OUTLINES OF UNIVERSAL 
HISTORY 

DESIGNED AS A TEXT-BOOK 
AND FOR PRIVATE READING 



BY 



GEORGE PARK FISHER, D.D., LL.D. 

PROFESSOR IN YALE UNIVERSITY 



NE W AND RE VISED EDITION 



oI*Jc 



NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 
APR 19 1904 
n Cooyrlffht Entry 

jT^My, t - /(? ^If- 

o'lass Ou xko. ho. 
•^ COPY B 



Copyright, 1885, bv 
IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR, & COMPANY. 

Copyright, 1904, by 
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. 



INSCRIBED 

BY THE AUTHOR 

AS A TOKEN OF LOVE AND THANKFULNESS 

TO HIS DAUGHTER 

C. R. F. 



Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
in 2011 witii funding from 
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PREFACE. 



IN writing this work I have endeavored to provide a text-book suited 
to more advanced pupils. My idea of such a work was, that it should 
present the essential facts of history in due order, and in conformity 
to the best and latest researches ; that it should point out clearly the 
connection of events and of successive eras with one another; that 
through the interest awakened by the natural, unforced view gained 
of this unity of history, and by such illustrative incidents as the 
brevity of the narrative would allow to be wrought into it, the dryness 
of a mere summary should be, as far as possible, relieved ; and that, 
finally, being a book intended for pupils and readers of all classes, it 
should be free from sectarian partiality, and should limit itself to 
well-established judgments and conclusions on all matters subject to 
party contention. Respecting one of the points just referred to, I can 
say that, in composing this work, I have myself been more than ever 
impressed with the unity of history, and affected by this great and 
deeply moving drama that is still advancing into a future that is 
hidden from view. I can not but hope that this feeling, spontaneous 
and vivid in my own mind, may communicate itself to the reader in 
his progress through these pages. 

The most interesting object in the study of history is, to quote Dr. 
Arnold's words, " that which most nearly touches the inner life of civ- 
ilized man, namely, the vicissitudes of institutions, social, political, and 
religious." But, as the same scholar adds, "a knowledge of the exter- 
nal is needed before we arrive at that which is within. We want to 
get a sort of frame for our picture. , , . And thus ■we want to know 
clearly the geographical boundaries of different countries, and their 
external revolutions. This leads us in the first instance to geography 
and military history, even if our ultimate object lies beyond." Some- 
thing more is aimed at in the present work than the construction 
of this "frame," without which, to be sure, a student wanders about 
" vaguely, like an ignorant man in an ill-arranged museum." By the 
use of different sorts of type, it has been practicable to introduce a 



vi PREFACE. 

considerable amount of detail without breaking the main current of 
the narrative, or making it too long. By means of these additional 
passages, and by appending lists of books at the close of the sev- 
eral periods, the attempt has been made to aid younger students in 
carrying forward the study of history beyond the usual requirements 
of the class-room. I make no apology for the sketches presented of 
the history of science, literature, art, and of moral and material de- 
cline or improvement. Professor Seeley, in his interesting book on The 
Expansion of England, is disposed to confine history to the civil com- 
munity, and to the part of human well-being which depends on that. 
"That a man in England," he tells us, "makes a scientific discovery 
or paints a picture, is not in itself an event in the history of England." 
But, of course, as this able writer himself remarks, "history may 
assume a larger or a narrower function ; " and I am persuaded that to 
shut up history within so narrow bounds, is not expedient in a work 
designed in part to stimulate readers to wide and continued studies. 

One who has long been engaged in historical study and teaching, 
if he undertakes to prepare such a work as the present, has occasion 
to traverse certain periods where previous investigations have made 
him feel more or less at home. Elsewhere at least his course must 
be to collate authorities, follow such as he deems best entitled to 
credit, and, on points of uncertainty, satisfy himself by recurrence 
to the original sources of evidence. Among the numerous works from 
which I have derived assistance, the largest debt is due, especially in 
the ancient and mediseval periods, to Weber's Leh-buch der Welt- 
geschichte, which (in its nineteenth edition, 1883) contains 2328 large 
octavo pages of well-digested matter. Duruy's Histoire du Moyen 
Age (eleventh edition, 1882), and also his Histoire des Temps Moderties 
(ninth edition), have yielded to me important aid. From the writings 
of Mr. E. A. Freeman I have constantly derived instruction. In 
particular, I have made use of his Gene7'al Sketch of Europeatt His- 
tory (which is published in this country, under the title, Outlines of 
History), and of his lucid, compact, and thorough History of Euro- 
pean Geography. The other writings, however, of this able and 
learned historian, have been very helpful. Mr. TiUinghast's edition 
of Ploetz's Epitome I have found to be a highly valuable store- 
house of historical facts, and have frequently consulted it with advan- 
tage. The superior accuracy of George's Genealogical Tables is the 
reason why I have freely availed myself of the aid afforded by them. 
Professor (now President) C. K. Adams's excellent Manual of His- 
torical Literature, to which reference is repeatedly made in the fol- 
lowing pages, has been of service in preparing the lists of works to 



PREFACE. vii 

be read or consulted. Those lists, it hardly need be said, aim at 
nothing like a complete bibliography. No doubt to each of them 
other valuable works might easily be added. As a rule, no men- 
tion is made of more technical or abstruse writings, collections of 
documents, and so forth. The titles of but few historical novels are 
given. Useful as the best of these ai'e, works of this class are often 
inaccurate and misleading ; so that a living master in historical 
authorship has said even of Walter Scott, who is so strong when he 
stands on Scottish soil, that in his Ivanhoe " there is a mistake in 
every line." With regard, however, to historical fiction, including 
poems, as well as novels and tales, the student will find in Mr. Justin 
Winsor's very learned and elaborate monograph (forming a distinct 
section of the catalogue of the Boston Public Library), the most full 
information up to the date of its publication. Most of the historical 
maps, to illustrate the text of the present work, have been engraved 
from drawings after Spruner, Putzger, Freeman, etc. Of the ancient 
maps, several have been adopted (in a revised form) from a General 
Atlas. That the maps contain more places than are referred to in the 
text, is not a disadvantage. 

I wish to express my obligation to a number of friends who have 
kindly lent me aid in the revisal of particular portions of the proof- 
sheets of this volume. My special thanks are due, on account of this 
service, to Professor Francis Brown of the Union Theological School; 
to Professors W. D. Whitney, Tracy Peck, T. D. Seymour, W. H. 
Brewer, and T. R. Lounsbur}^ of Yale College ; to Mr. A. Van Name, 
librarian of Yale College ; and to Mr. W. L. Kingsley, to whose his- 
torical knowledge and unfailing kindness I have, on previous occa- 
sions, been indebted for like assistance. To other friends besides 
those just named, I am indebted for information on points made 
familiar to them by their special studies. 

G. P. F. 



PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION. 

The characteristics of this work are stated in the Preface to the First 
Edition, which may be read on page v and the next following pages of 
the present volume. 

The work has been subjected to a careful revision. The aim has 
been to make whatever amendments are called for by historical investi- 
gations m the mterval since it was published. Besides corrections, 
brief statements have been woven here and there into the text. The 



vill PREFACE. 

revision has embraced the bibliography connected with the successive 
periods or chapters. Titles of books which are no longer of service 
have been erased. Titles of select recent publications, as well as of 
meritorious writings of a remoter past, have been inserted. 

In preparing this edition for the press I have not been without the 
advantage of aid from friends versed in historical studies. Professor 
Henry E. Bourne, of Western Reserve University, besides particular 
annotations, has prolonged the history so far as to include in its com- 
pass, in Chapter VII, the last decade of the nineteenth century and 
events as recent as the close of the South African War and the acces- 
sion of President Roosevelt. Professor Charles C. Torrey, Ph.D., of 
Yale University, has placed in my hands notes of his own on Oriental 
History, a portion of history with which, as well as with the Semitic 
languages, he is conversant. It will not be for lack of painstaking if 
any part of the new edition fails, within the limits of its plan, to cor- 
respond to the present state of historical knowledge. 

G. P. F. 

Yale University, January, 1904. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Introduction » ^ 



PART I. 

ANCIENT HISTORY. 

From the Beginning of Authentic History to the Migrations of the Teutonic 

Tribes (A.D. 375) 17 

DIVISION I. 

ORIENTAL HISTORY. 
Introduction ^8 

Section I. 

CHINA AND INDIA. 
CHAPTER I. — China . 20 

CHAPTER II. — India 25 

Section II. 

THE earliest GROUP OF NATIONS. 

CHAPTER L — Egypt 33 

CHAPTER II. — Assyria and Babylon 43 

CHAPTER HI. — The Phcenicians and Carthaginians ... 51 

CHAPTER IV.— The Hebrews • • 55 

CHAPTER v. — The Persians 64 

DIVISION II. 

EUROPE. 
Introduction '73 

Section I. 

GRECIAN HISTORY. 
Introduction • • ?5 



X CONTENTS. 

Period I. 

GREECE PRIOR TO THE PERSIAN WARS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER I. — The Prehistoric Age 78 

CHAPTER H. — The Formation of the Principal States . . 85 

Period II. 

THE flourishing ERA OF GREECE. 

CHAPTER I. — The Persian Wars 93 

CHAPTER n. — The Ascendency of Athens 96 

CHAPTER HI. — The Peloponnesian War 102 

CHAPTER IV. — Relations with Persia: the Spartan and Theban 

Hegemony 109 

Period III. 

the MACEDONIAN ERA. 

CHAPTER I. — Philip and Alexander m 

CHAPTER II. — The Successors of Alexander 116 

Section II. 

ROMAN HISTORY. 
Introduction 124 

Period I. 

ROME under the KINGS AND THE PATRICIANS (753-304 B.C.). 
CHAPTER I. — Rome under the Kings (753-509 B.C.) . . . .128 
CHAPTER II. — Rome under the Patricians (509-304 B.C.) . . 133 

Period II. 

TO THE UNION OF ITALY (304-264 B.C.). 
CHAPTER I. — Conquest of the Latins and Italians (304-2S2 B.C.), 13S 

CHAPTER II. — War with Pyrrhus and Union with Italy (282- 

264 B.C.) 139 

Period III. 

THE PUNIC WARS. 
To the Conquest of Carthage and of the Greek States (264-146 B.C.) . . 143 
CHAPTER I. — The First and Second Punic Wars (264-202 B.C.) . 143 

CHAPTER II. — Conquest of Macedonia: the Third Punic War: 

the Destruction of Corinth (202-146 B.C.) 148 



CONTENTS. XI 

Period IV. 

THE ERA OF REVOLUTION AND OF THE CIVIL AVARS (146-31 B.C.). 

PAGE 

CHAPTER I. — The Gracchi: the First Mithridatic War : Marius 

AND Sulla (146-78 B.C.) 153 

CHAPTER n. — PoMPEius and the East: to the Death of Cras- 

sus (78-53 B.C.) 158 

CHAPTER HI. — PoMPEius and Caesar: the Second Triumvirate . 164 

Period V. 

THE IMPERIAL MONARCHY. 

To the Migrations of the Teutonic Tribes (375 A. D.) . . . . . 168 

CHAPTER I. — The Reign of Augustus 168 

CHAPTER n. — The Emperors of the A.ugustan House . . . 176 

CHAPTER in. — The Flavians and the Antonines .... 180 

CHAPTER IV. — The Emperors made by the Soldiers: the Abso- 
lute Monarchy; the Triumph of Christianity. . . .185 



PART II. 

lVIEDI.ffi:VAL HISTORY. 

From the Migrations of the Teutonic Tribes to the Fall of Constantinople 

{A.D. 375-1453)- 

Introduction 198 

Period I. 

TO THE CARLOVINGIAN LINE OF FRANK RULERS (A.D. 375-751). 

CHAPTER I. — Causes of the Fall of the Western Empire: the 

Teutonic Confederacies 199 

CHAPTER II. — The Teutonic Migrations and Kingdoms . . 204 

CHAPTER III. — The Eastern Empire 217 

CHAPTER IV. — Mohammedanism and the Arabic Conquests . . 223 

Period II. 

FROM the CARLOVINGIAN LINE OF FRANK KINGS TO THE 
ROMANO-GERMANIC EMPIRE (a.D. 751-962). 

CHAPTER I. — The Carlovingian Empire to the Death of Char- 
lemagne (A.D. 814) 234 

CHAPTER II. — Dissolution of Charlemagne's Empire: Rise of 

the Kingdoms of France, Germany, and Italy .... 240 

CHAPTER III. — Invasions of the Northmen and Others: the 

Feudal System 246 



XU CONTENTS. 

Period III. 

FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROMANO-GERMANIC EMPIRE TO 
THE END OF THE CRUSADES (A.D. 962-1270). 

PAGE 

CHAPTER I. — The Church and the Empire : Predominance of the 

Empire : to the Crusades (A.D. 1096) 260 

CHAPTER II. — The Church and the Empire: Predominance of 

THE Church : to the End of the Crusades (A.D. 1270) . . 269 

CHAPTER III. — England and France: the First Period of their 

RivALSHip (A.D. 1066-1217) 289 

CHAPTER IV. — Rise of the Burgher Class: Society in the Era 

OF the Crusades 301 

Period IV. 

FROM THE END OF THE CRUSADES TO THE FALL OF CONSTAN- 
TINOPLE (A.D. 1270-1453) : THE DECLINE OF ECCLESIASTICAL 
AUTHORITY : THE GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT AND OF 
MONARCHY. 



Introduction 



3" 



CHAPTER I.— England and France : Second Period of Rival- 
ship : the Hundred Years' War (.\.D. 1339-1453) . . . 311 

CHAPTER II. — Germany: Italy: Spain: The Scandinavian Coun- 
tries: Poland and Russia: Hungary: Ottoman Turks: the 
Greek Empire 331 

CHAPTER III. — The Countries of Eastern Asia . . . '355 



PART III. 

MODERN HISTORY. 

Fro7n the Fall of Constantinople {\\'~,^ to the Present Time .... 361 
Introduction 361 

Period I. 

FROM THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE TO THE REFORMA- 
TION (1453-1517). 
Introduction 363 

CHAPTER I. — France: England: Spain: Germany: Italy: the 

Ottoman Turks: Russia: the Invasions of Italy . . . 363 

CHAPTER II. — Invention and Discovery: the Renaissance . . 387 



CONTENTS. Xlli 

Period II. 

THE ERA OF THE REFORMATION (1517-1648). 

PAGE 

Introduction 396 

CHAPTER I. — The Reformation in Germany: to the Treaty of 

Nuremberg (1517-1532) 397 

CHAPTER n. — The Reformation in Teutonic Countries: Switz- 
erland, Denmark, Sweden, England 403 

CHAPTER HI. — The Reformation in Germany, from the Peace 

OF Nuremberg to the Peace of Augsburg (1532-1555) . . 408 

CHAPTER IV.^Calvinism in Geneva: Beginning of the Catholic 

Counter-Reformation 411 

CHAPTER V. — Philip IL, and the Revolt of the Netherlands . 414 

CHAPTER VI. — The Civil Wars in France, to the Death of 

Henry IV. (1610) 417 

CHAPTER VII. —The Thirty-Years' War, to the Peace of West- 
phalia (1618-1648) 422 

CHAPTER VIII. — Second Stage of the Reformation in England: 

to the Death of Elizabeth (1547-1603) 429 

CHAPTER IX. — The English Revolution and the Commonwealth 

(1603-165S) 435 

CHAPTER X. — Colonization in America: Asiatic Nations: Cul- 
ture AND Literature (1517-1648) 441 



Period III. 

FROM THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA TO THE FRENCH REVOLU- 
TION (164S-1789). 

Introduction 451 

CHAPTER L — The Preponderance of France: First Part of the 
Reign of Louis XIV. (to the Peace of Ryswick, 1697) : the 
Restoration of the Stuarts : the English Revolution of 
1688 452 

CHAPTER II. — War of the Spanish Succession (to the Peace of 
Utrecht, 1713) : Decline of the Power of France: Power 
and Maritime Supremacy of England 463 

CHAPTER III. — The Great Northern War: the Fall of Swe- 
den : Growth of the Power of Russia 470 

CHAPTER IV. — War of the Austrian Succession: Growth of 

the Power of Prussia : the Destruction of Poland . . 474 

CHAPTER V. — Contest of England and France in America: 
War of American Independence: the Constitution of the 
United States 479 

CHAPTER VI. — Literature, Science, and Religion. . . . 490 



Xiv CONTENTS. 

Period IV. 

THE ERA OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789-1815). 

PAGE 

Introduction 497 

CHAPTER I. — From the Assembling of the States-General to 

THE Execution of Louis XVI. (1789-1793) 499 

CHAPTER 11. — From the Execution of Louis XVI. to the Fall 

OF Robespierre (Jan. 21, 1793-JuLY 27, 1794) 508 

CHAPTER III. — From the Fall of Robespierre to the Empire 

OF Napoleon (1794-1804) 515 

CHAPTER rv. — From the Beginning of the Empire to the Rus- 
sian Campaign (1804-1812) 523 

CHAPTER V. — From the Russian Campaign (1812) to the Con- 
gress of Vienna (1814-15) 530 

CHAPTER VI. —American History in this Period (1789-1815) . 536 

CHAPTER VII. — Literature, Art, and Science (1789-1815) . . 543 

Period V. 

FROM THE congress OF VIENNA (1815) TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
Introduction 547 

CHAPTER I. — Europe, from the Congress of Vienna (1S15) to 

the French Revolution of 1830 549 

CHAPTER II. — Europe, from the Revolution of 1830 to the Rev- 
olutionary Epoch of 1848 554 

CHAPTER IIL — Europe, from the Revolutions of 1848 to the 

Austro-Prussian War (1866) 566 

CHAPTER IV. — Europe, from the Beginning of the Austro- 
Prussian War to the End of the Franco-German War 
(1866-1871) 57; 

CHAPTER V. — Europe, from the Third French Republic, and 

the Union of Italy (1871) 584 

CHAPTER VI. —The United States since 1815 : The South Ameri- 
can States: Eastern Asia 601 

CHAPTER VII. — The Last Decade of the Nineteenth Century 618 

CH.APTER VIII. — Discovery and Invention: Science and Litera- 
ture: Progress of Humane Sentiment: Progress towards 
THE Unity of Mankind 631 



LIST OF MAPS. 



PAGE 

The World as known to the Ancients . i6 

Physical Features of Asia i8 

Ancient Egypt 32 

Ancient Palestine 56 

Physical Features of Europe * . . .72 

Ancient Greece and the JEgean Islands 74 

Greek and Phoenician Colonies 76 

Empire of Alexander the Great no 

Kingdoms of the Successors of Alexander 116 

Ancient Italy (Northern Part) . 128 

Ancjent Italy (Southern Part) 144 

Ancient Roman Empire 174 

The New Nations after the Great Migrations (about A.D. 500) . 212 

Empire of the Saracens (about A.D. 750) 228 

Empire of Charlemagne 232 

Empire of Charlemagne A.D. 843 240 

Empire of Charlemagne A.D. 887 240 

Central Europe about A.D. 9S0 242 

Mediterranean Lands at the Time of the Crusades . . . 270 

France and England, A.D. 1154-1189 292 

Central Europe, A.D. 1360 328 

Central Europe, A.D. 1660 328 

Italy about the Middle of ihe Sixteenth Century . . . 410 
Europe at the time of Napoleon's Greatest Power (about A.D. 

1810) ,528 

XV 



XVI LIST OF MAPS. 



PAGE 



Central Europe in 1815 -,, 

Europe after 1878 568 

AUSTRO-HUNGARY SINCE 1878 . . . . , ' , _ eyS 

France since 1871 . . -a^ 

German Empire since 1871 502 

Turkish Empire, Greece, etc., since 1878 506 

Territorial Growth of the United States . . . . 601 

Asia at the Present Time .... .... 616 ' 



UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Definition of History. — The subject of history is man. His- 
tory has for its object to record his doings and experiences. It 
may then be concisely defined as a narrative of past events in 
which men have been concerned. To describe the earth, the 
abode of man, to dehneate the different kingdoms of nature, and 
to inquire into the origin of them, or to explain the physical or 
mental constitution of human beings, is no part of the office of 
history. All this belongs to the departments of natural and intel- 
lectual science. 

But history, as we now understand the term, is more than a 
bare record of what men have done and suffered. It aims to point 
out the connection of events with one another. It seeks to ex- 
plain the causes and the consequences of things that occur. It 
would trace the steps that mark the progress of the race, and of 
the different portions of it, through extended periods. It brings 
to light the thread which unites each particular stage in the career 
of a people, or of mankind as a whole, with what went before, 
and with what came after. 

Nations. — History has been called *' the biography of a soci- 
ety." Biography has to do with the career of an individual. His- 
tory is concerned with the successive actions and fortunes of a 
community ; in its broadest extent, with the experiences of the 
human family. It is only when men are connected by the social 
bond, and remain so united for a greater or less period, that there 
is room for history. It is, therefore, with nations, in their internal 
progress and in their mutual relations, that history especially deals. 
Of mere clans, or loosely organized tribes, it can have little to 
say. History can go no farther than to explore their genealogy, 
and state what were their journeyings and habits. The nation is 
a form of society that rests on the same basis — a basis at once 
natural and part of a divine system — as the family. By a nation 
is meant a people dwelling in a definite territory, living under the 



2 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

sanie government, and bound together by such ties as a common 
language, a common rehgion, the same institutions and customs. 
The elements that enter into that national spirit which is the bond 
of unity, are multiple. They vary to a degree in different peoples. 
As individuals are not ahke, and as the history of any particular 
community is modified and molded by these individual differences, 
so the course of the history of mankind is shaped by the peculiar 
characteristics of the various nations, and by their interaction upon 
one another. In like manner, groups of nations, each charac- 
terized by distinctive traits derived from affinities of race or of 
religion, or from other sources, act on each other, and thus help 
to determine the course of the historic stream. 

Scope of History. — The rise and progress of cultm-e and civ- 
ilization in their various constituents is the theme of history. It 
does not limit its attention to a particular fraction of a people, 
to the exclusion of the rest. Governments and rulers, and the 
public doings of states, — such as foreign wars, and the struggles 
of rival dynasties, — naturally form a prominent topic in historical 
writings. But this is only one department in the records of the 
past. More and more history interests itself in the character of 
society at large, and in the phases through which it has passed. 
How men lived from day to day, what their occupations were, 
their comforts and discomforts, their ideas, sentiments, and modes 
of intercourse, their state as regards art, letters, invention, reU- 
gious enlightenment, — these are points on which history, as at 
present studied and written, undertakes to shed light. 

Points of View. — An eminent German philosopher of our day, 
Hermann Lotze, intimates that there are five phases of human 
development, and hence five points of view from which the course 
of history is to be surveyed. These are the intellectual (embra- 
cing the progress of truth and knowledge), the industrial, the ces- 
thetic (including art in all its higher ramifications), the religious, 
and the political. An able English scholar, Goldwin Smith, 
resolves the elements of human progress, and thus the most gen- 
eral topics of history, into three, " the moral, the intellectual, and 
the productive ; or, virtue, knowledge, and industry T " But these 
three elements," he adds, " though distinct, are not separate, but 
closely connected with each other." 

The Philosophy of History. — That there is, in some sense, a 
" reign of law " in the succession of human events, is a conviction 
warranted by observed facts, as well as inspired by religion. Events 
do not spring into being, disjoined from antecedents leading to 
them. Even turning-points in history, which seem, at the first 
glance, abrupt, are found to be dependent on previous conditions. 
They are perceived to be the natural issue of the times that have 
gone before. Preceding events have foreshadowed them. There 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

are laws of historical progress which have their root in the charac- 
teristics of human nature. Ends are wrought out, which bear on 
them evident marks of design. History, as a whole, is the carry- 
ing out of a plan : 

"... through the ages one increasing purpose runs." 

Augiistine long ago argued, that he who has not left " even the entrails of the smallest and 
most insignificant animal, or the feather of a bird, or the little flower of a plant, or the leaf of 
a tree, without a harmony, and, as it were, a mutual peace among all its parts, — that God can 
never be believed to have left the kingdoms of men, their dominations and servitudes, outside of 
the laws of his providence." 

To discern the plan of history, and the causes or laws through 
which it is accomplished, as far as our limited capacity will allow, 
is the object of what is called the philosophy of history. 

Freedom and Law. — It must not be forgotten, however, that 
man is a free agent. History, although it is not an aimless pro- 
cess, is, nevertheless, not subject to the forces and laws which 
govern in the realm of matter. Physical analogies are not a literal 
image of what takes place in the sphere of intelligence and free- 
dom. Moral evil, wherever it is a factor in history, has its origin 
in the will of man. In respect to it, the agency of God is per- 
missive and overruling. Through his providence, order is made to 
emerge, a worthy goal is at last reached, despite the elements of 
disorder introduced by human perversity. 

Nor is progress continuous and unbroken. It is often, as one 
has said, a spiral rather than a straight line. It is not an unceas- 
ing advance : there are backward movements, or what appear to 
be such. Of particular nations it is frequently evident, that, intel- 
lectually and morally, as well as in power and thrift, they have 
sunk below a level once attained. 

Of the inscrutable blending of human freedom with a pre-ordained design, Guizot says: 
" Man advances in the execution of a plan which he has not conceived, and of which he is not 
even aware. He is the free and intelligent artificer of a work which is not his own." " Con- 
ceive a great machine, the design of which is centered in a single mind, though its various parts 
are intrusted to different workmen, separated from, and strangers to, each other. No one of 
them understands the work as a whole, nor the general result which he concurs in producing; 
but every one e.vecutes with intelligence and freedom, by rational and voluntary acts, the par- 
ticular task assigned to him." {Lectures on the History of Civilization, Lect. xi.) 

Personal Power. — The progress of society has been inseparably 
connected with the agency of eminent persons. Signal changes, 
whether wholesome or mischievous, are linked to the names of 
individuals who have specially contributed to bring them to pass. 
The achievements of heroes stand out in as bold relief in authentic 
history as in the obscure era of myth and fable. Fruitful inven- 
tions, after the earlier steps in civilization are taken, are traceable 
to particular authors, exalted by their genius above the common 
level. So it is with the literary works which have exerted the deep- 
est and most lasting influence. Nations have their pilots in war 
and in peace. Epochs in the progress of the fine arts are ushered 



4 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

in by individuals of surpassing mental power. Reforms and revo- 
lutions, which alter the direction of the historic stream, emanate 
from individuals in whose minds they are conceived, and by whose 
energy they are effected. The force thus exerted by the leaders 
in history is not accounted for by reference to general laws. 
Great men are not puppets moved by the spirit of the time. To 
be sure, there must be a preparation for them, and a groundwork 
of sympathy among their contemporaries : otherwise their activity 
would call forth no response. Independently of the age that gives 
them birth, their power would lose its distinctive form and hue : 
they would be incapable of influence. 

Cromwell would not have been Cromwell had he been born in any other 
period of English history. Nor could he have played his part, being what 
he was, had not the religious and political struggles of England for genera- 
tions framed a theater adapted to his talents and character. Michael Aiigelo 
could not have arisen in a half-civilized tribe. His creative power would 
have found no field in a society rude, and blind to the attractions of art. 
Nevertheless, his power was creative. Cromwell and Michael Angelo, and 
such as they, are not the passive organs, the mere outcome, of the communi- 
ties in which they appear. Without the original thought and personal energy 
of leaders, momentous changes in the life of nations could never have taken 
place. A great man may be obliged to wait long for the answering sympathy 
which is required to give effect to his thoughts and purposes. Such a mind 
is said to be .in advance of the age. Another generation may have to appear 
before the harvest springs from the seed that he has sown. Moreover, it is 
not true that great men, efficient leaders, come forward whenever there is 
an exigency calling for them, or an urgent need. Rather is it true that terrible 
disasters sometimes occur, at critical points in history, just for the lack of 
leaders fit for the emergency. 

The Meaning of History. — A thoughtful student can hardly fail to propose to him- 
self the question, " What is the meaning of history ? Why is this long drama with all that is 
noble and joyous in it, and with its abysses of sin and misery, enacted at all?" It is only a 
partial answer that one can hope to give to this grave inquiry, for the designs of Providence 
can not be fully fathomed. But, among the ends in view, the moral training of mankind stands 
forth with a marked prominence. The deliverance of the race from moral evil and error, and 
the building-up of a purified society, enriched with all the good that belongs to the ideal of 
humanity, and exalted by fellowship with God, is not only an end worthy in itself, but it is the 
end towards which the onward movement of history is seen to be directed. Hence, a central 
place in the course of history belongs to the life and work of Jesus Christ. 

No more satisfactory solution of this problem of the significance of history has ever been 
ofTered than that brought forward by the Apostle Paul in Acts xvii. 27, where he says that the 
nations of men were assigned to their places on the earth, and their duration as well as bound- 
aries determined, " that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find 
him." 

"Works on the Philosophy of History.— (Professor C. K. Adams's Manual 
of Historical Literature (1882) is an excellent guide in historical reading. Briefer lists of 
works in Methods of Teaching and Studyiiig History, edited by G. Stanley Hall.) Books 
on the Philosophy of History : R. Flint, The Philosophy of History, vol. i., — Writers on 
the subject in France and Germany. Vol. ii. will treat of England and Italy. The work 
is a critical review of the literature on the subject. Schlegel, The Philosophy of History; 
Shedd's Lectures on the Philosophy of History; Bunsen's God in History (3 vols., 1870); 
LoTZE, Mikrokosmus, vol. iii., book vii.; Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws ; Buckle, History 
of Civilization in England (2 vols.). This work is based on the denial of free-will, and the 
doctrine that physical influences, — climate, soil, food, etc., — are the main causes of intellectual 
progress. Draper's History of the Intellectual Develop7nent of Europe (2 vols., 2d edition, 
1876) is in the same vein. Opposed to this philosophy are Goldwin Smith's Lectures on 
the Study of History; C. Kingsley, in his Miscellanies, The Limits of Exact Science as 
applied to History; Froude, in Short Studies, vol. i.. The Science of History; Lotze, as 
above; also, Flint, and Droysen, Grundriss der Historik. Hegel's Philosophy of History 
has profound observations, but connected with an a priori theory. 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

Historical Writing. — The beginning of historical writing was in the 
form of lists of kings, or bare records of battles, or the simple registration 
of other occurrences of remarkable interest. The Egyptians, Babylonians, 
Assyrians, Chinese, and other nations, furnish examples of this rudimental 
type of historical writing. More continuous annals followed ; but these are 
meager in contents, and make no attempt to find links of connection be- 
tween events. The ancient Hebrew historians are on a much higher plane, 
and, apart from their religious value, far surpass all other Asiatic histories. 
It was in Greece, the fountain-head of science, that history, as an art, first 
appeared. Herodotus, born early in the fifth century B.C., first undertook to 
satisfy curiosity respecting the past by a more elaborate and entertaining 
narrative. He begins his work thus : " These are the researches of Herodo- 
tus of Halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving 
from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the 
great and marvelous actions of the Greeks and the barbarians from losing 
their due meed of glory, and withal to put on record what were the grounds 
of their hostility." In Herodotus, history, owing to the inquiry made into 
the causes of events, begins to rise above the level of a mere chronicle, its 
primitive type. Thucydides, who died about 400 B.C., followed. He is far 
more accurate in his investigations, having a deep insight into the origin of 
the events which he relates, and is a mode! of candor. He, too, writes to 
minister to the inquisitive spirit of his countrymen, and of the generations 
that were to follow. He began to write his history of the war between the 
Athenians and the Peloponnesians while it was still going on, in the belief, 
he says, " that it would turn out great, and worthier of being recorded than 
any that had preceded it." The attention of historical writers was still con- 
fined to a particular country, or to insulated groups of events. Before there 
could spring up the idea of universal history, it was necessary that there 
should be a broader view of m.ankind as a whole. The ancient Stoics had a 
glimpse of the race as a family, and of the nations as forming one complex 
unity. The conquests and extended dominion of Rome first suggested the 
idea of universal history. Polybius, a Greek in the second century B.C., had 
watched the progress of Rome, in its career of conquest, until " the affairs 
of Italy and Africa," as he says, "joined with those of Asia and Greece, and 
all moved together towards one fixed and single point." He tells us that 
particular histories can not give us a knowledge of the whole, more than the 
survey of the divided members of a body once endowed with life and beauty 
can yield a just conception of all the comeliness and vigor which it has 
received from Nature. To Polybius belongs the distinction of being the 
first to undertake a universal history. Christianity, with its doctrine of the 
unity of mankind, and with all the moral and religious teaching characteristic 
of the gospel, contributed effectively to the widening of the view of the 
office and scope of history. It is only in quite recent times that history has 
directed its attention predominantly to social progress, and to its causes and 
conditions. 

History, in its etymological sense (from the Greek, i-(rTopfa),meant the ascertaining of facts 
by inquiry; then, the results of this inquiry, the knowledge thus obtained. The work of 
Herodotus was " history " in the strictest sense : he acquired his information by travel and 
personal interrogation. 

The German philosopher, Hegel, has divided histories into three classes: i. Original his- 
tories; i.e., works written by contemporaries of the events described, who share in the spirit 
of the times, and may have personally taken part in the transactions. Such are the works of 
Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon's Anabasis, Clarendon's History of the Great Rebellion in 
England, Cecsar's Commentaries. 2. Reflective /itstori'cs, where the author writes at a later 
point of time, on the basis of materials which he gathers up, but is not himself a partaker in 
the spirit of the age of which he treats. 3. Philosophical histories, which set forth the 
rational development of history in its inmost idea. 

Another classification is the following: i. Genealogies, like the records of Manetho, the 
Egyptian priest. 2. The chronicle, following the chronological order, and telling the story in 
a simple, popular way. 3, The " firaginatic" form of writing, which aims to explain by 
reference to the past some particular characteristic or phase of the present, and uses history to 



6 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

point a special moral lesson. 4. The form of history which traces the rise and progress of 
" ideas," tendencies, or ruling forces, — such as the idea of civil equality in early Rome or in 
modern France, the religious ideas of Mohammedanism, the idea of representative government, 
the idea of German unity, etc. 

A broad line of distinction has been drawn between " the old or artistic type of history," 
and the new or sociological type which belongs to the present century. The ancient historians 
represented the former type. They prized literary form. They aimed to interweave moral and 
political reflections. Polybius often interrupts his narrative to introduce remarks of this sort. 
But they were not, as a rule, diligent and accurate in their researches. And, above all, they 
had no just conception of society as a whole, and of the complex forces out of which the visi- 
ble scene springs. The Greeks were the masters in this first or artistic form of history. The 
French Revolution was one stimulus to a profounder and more comprehensive method of study- 
ing history. The methods and investigations of natural science have had a decided influence 
in the same direction. 

The Sources of History. — History must depend for credence on cred- 
ible evidence. In order to justify belief, one niust either himself have seen 
or heard the facts related, or have the testimony, direct or indirect, of wit- 
nesses or of well-informed contemporaries. The sources of historic knowledge 
are mainly comprised in 07-al traditio7i, or in some form of written records. 

Tradition is exposed to the infirmities of memory, and to the unconscious 
invention and distortion which grow out of imagination and feeling. Ordi- 
narily, bare tradition, not verified by corroborative proofs, can not be trusted 
later than the second generation from the circumstances narrated. It ceases 
to be reliable when it has been transmitted through more than two hands. In 
the case of a great and startling event, like a destructive convulsion of nature 
or a protracted war, the authentic story, though unwritten, of the central facts, 
at least, is of much longer duration. There may be visible monuments that 
serve to perpetuate the recollection of the occurrences which they commemo- 
rate. Institutions may exist — popular festivals and the like — which keep 
alive the memory of past events, and, in certain circumstances, are sufficient 
to verify them to generations far removed in time. Events of a stirring char- 
acter, when they are embodied in songs of an early date, may be transmitted 
orally, though in a poetic dress. Songs and legends, it may be added, even 
when they do not suffice to verify the incidents to which they refer, are 
valuable as disclosing the sentiments and habits of the times when they ori- 
ginated, or were cherished. The central fact, the nucleus of the tradition, 
may be historical when all the details belonging with it have been effaced, 
or have been superseded by other details, the product of imagination. The 
historical student is to distinguish between traditionary tales which are iin- 
trustworthy throughout, and traditions which have their roots in fact. Apart 
from oral tradition, the sources of historical knowledge are the following : — 

1. Contemporary registers, chronicles, and other documents, either now, or 
known to have been originally, in a manuscript form. 

2. Inscriptions on monuments and coins. Such, for example, are the in- 
scriptions on the monuments of Egypt and on the buried ruins of Nineveh 
and Babylon. Such are the ancient epitaphs, heathen and Christian, in the 
Roman catacombs. The study of ancient inscriptions of various sorts has 
thrown much light of late upon Grecian and Roman antiquity. 

3. The entire literature of a people, in which its intellectual, moral, and 
social condition, at any particular era, is mirrored. 

4. Material structures of every kind, as altars, tombs, private dwellings, — 
as those uncovered at Pompeii, — public edifices, civil and religious, paintings, 
weapons, household utensils. These all tell a story relative to the knowl- 
edge and taste, the occupations and domestic habits, and the religion, of a 
past generation or of an extinct people. 

5 Language is a memorial of the past, of the more value since it is not 
the product of deliberate contrivance. Comparative philology, following lan- 
guages back to their earlier stages and to the parent stocks, unveils the con- 
dition of society at remote epochs. It not only describes the origin of nations, 
but teaches something respecting their primitive state. 



INTRODUCTION. ^ 

6. Histories written at former periods, but subsequently to the events de- 
scribed in them, are a secondary but valuable source of historical knowledge. 
This is especially true when their authors had access to traditions that were 
nearer their fountain, or to literary monuments which have perished. 

Historical Criticism. — Historical scholars are much more exacting as regards evidence 
than was formerly the case. The criticism of what purports to be proof is more searching. At 
the same time, what is called " historical divination " can not be altogether excluded. Learned 
and sagacious scholars have conjectured the existence of facts, where a gap in recorded history 

— " the logic of events " — seemed to presuppose them; and later discoveries have verified the 
guess. This is analogous to the success of Levemer and Adams in inferring the existence of an 
unknown planet, which the telescope afterwards discovered. An example of historical divina- 
tion on a large scale is furnished by the theories of the great German historian, Niebuhr, in 
respect to early Roman history'. He propounded opinions, however, which in many particulars 
fail to obtain general assent at present. 

Credibility of History. — At the opposite pole from credulity is an unwarrantable 
historical skepticism. The stoiy is told of Sir Walter Raleigh, that when he was a prisoner 
in the Tower, and was engaged in writing his History of tltc World, he heard the sounds of a 
fracas in the prison-yard. On inquiry of those who were concerned in it, and were on the spot, 
he found so many contradictions in their statements that he could not get at the truth. Where- 
upon, it occurred to him as a vain thing to undertake to describe what had occurred on the vast 
theater of the world, when he could not ascertain the truth about an event occurring within 
a bow-shot. The anecdote simply illustrates, however, the difficulty of getting at the exact 
truth respecting details, — a difficulty constantly e.xemplified in courts of justice. The fact of 
the conflict in the court of the Tower, the general cause, the parties engaged, the consequences, 

— as, for example, what punishment was inflicted, — were undisputed. The great facts which 
influence the course of history, it is not difficult to ascertain. Moreover, as against an extrav- 
agant skepticism, it may be said that history provides us with a vast amount of authentic 
information which contemporaries, and even individual actors, were not possessed of This is 
through the bringing to light of documents from a great variety of sources, many of which were 
secret, or not open to the view of all the leaders in the transactions to which they refer. The 
private correspondence of the Protestant leaders, — Luther, Melanchthon, Cranmer, etc., — the 
letters of Erasmus, the official reports of the Venetian ambassadors, the letters of William 
the Silent and of Philip II., put us in possession of much information, which at the time was 
a secret to most of the prominent participants in the events of the sixteenth century. The 
correspondence of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, John Adams, Wolcott, Pickering, etc., 
introduces us into the secret counsels of the American political leaders of that day. Numerous 
facts conveyed from one to another under the seal of privacy, and not known to the others, are 
thus revealed to us. 

On the nature and value of tradition, a very valuable discussion is that of Ewald, History 
of Israel, vol. i. pp. 13-38: Sir G. C. Lewis, Essays on the Credibility of Early Roman 
History, in which Niebuhr's conclusions are criticised; A. Bisset, Essays on Historical 
Truth. On the sources of history. Art. by Gairdner in The Contemporary Review, vol. 
xxxviii. 

History and Geography. — Political Geography, which describes 
the earth as inhabited, and as parceled out among nations, has a 
close relation to history. Without a distinct idea of the position 
of places and the boundaries of countries, historical narrations 
are enveloped in a sort of haze. France, for example, is a name 
with very different meanings at different dates in the past. Un- 
less the varying uses of the word Burgundy are understood, im- 
portant parts of European history are left in confusion. 

Physical Geography. — Even more helpful is Physical Geogra- 
phy, which surveys the earth in its three great divisions, — land, 
sea, and air, — without reference to lines of political demarkation. 
The configuration of the different portions of the globe, with the 
varieties of climate, the relations of mountain and plain, of land 
and water, have strongly affected the character of nations and the 
currents of history. In regions extremely hot or extremely cold 
man can not thrive, or build up a rich and enduring civilization. 
The occupations of a people are largely dependent on its situa- 



8 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

tion, — whether it be maritime or away from the sea, — and on 
pecuHarities of soil and temperature. The character of the Nile 
valley, and its periodical inundation, is a striking illustration of 
the possible extent of geographical influences. The peninsular 
and mountainous character of Greece went far to shape the form 
of Greek political society. The high plateau which forms the 
greater portion of Spain, with the fertile belts of valley on the 
Atlantic and Mediterranean border, have helped to determine 
the employments and the character of the Spanish people. Had 
the physical characteristics of the Spanish peninsula been essen- 
tially different, the success of Wellington in expelling the French, 
with the forces at his disposal, would not have been possible. 
Were there a chain of mountains along our Atlantic coast as near 
as are the Andes to the Pacific, what different results would have 
arisen from the English settlements in North America ! The Al- 
pine barrier in the north of Italy was indispensable to the building- 
up and maintenance of the dominion of ancient Rome. Of the 
great basin or plain between the Alps and the Apennines, open 
to the sea only on the east, through which flows one great river, 
fed by streams from the mountains on either side. Dr. Arnold 
says : " Who can wonder that this large and richly watered plain 
should be filled with flourishing cities, or that it should have been 
contended for so often by successful invaders?" While the 
agency of climate, soil, and other physical circumstances may 
easily be exaggerated, that agency must be duly considered in 
accounting for historical phenomena. 

The best historical Atlas is the copious German work of Von Spruner. Freeman's His- 
torical Geography of Europe is a work of great value. Droysen's Allg. Hist. Atlas. 
Smaller atlases are those of Putzger, Rhode, Appleton's Hist. Atlas, the International, and 
the Collegiate. Smaller still, Keith Johnston's Crown Atlases and Half-Crown Atlases. On 
Mediaeval History, Labberton's Atlas; also, Kosppen: in Ancient Geography, Smith's work, 
Kiepert's, Long's. On Physical Geography, Guyot's text-books; Vaughan's Connection 
between History and Physical Geography, in Contemp. Review, vol. v. ; Hall's Methods 
of Studying History, etc., p. 201 seq., Encycl. Brit., Art. Geography. 

Chronology. — An exact method of establishing dates was slowly reached. 
The invention of eras was indispensable to this end. The earliest definite 
time for the dating of events was established at Babylon, — the era of 
Nabonassar, 747 B.C. The Greeks, from about 300 B.C., dated events from 
the first recorded victory at the Olympic games, 776 B.C. These games 
occurred every fourth year. Each Olympiad was thus a period of four 
years. The Romans, though not until some centuries after the foundmg 
of Rome, dated from that event; i.e., from 753 B.C. The Mohammedan 
era begins at the Hegira, or flight of Mohammed from Mecca, 622 A.D. The 
method of dating from the birth of Jesus was introduced by Dionysius 
Exiguus, a Roman abbot, about the middle of the sixth century. This 
epoch was placed by him about four years too late. This requires us to fix 
the date of the birth of Christ at 4 B.C. 

The day was the simplest and earliest division of time. The week has been in use for this 
purpose in the East from time immemorial. It was not introduced among the Romans until 
after the spread of Christianity in the Empire. The month was the earlier unit for periods of 
greater length. To make the lunar and the solar years correspond, and to determine the exact 
length of the solar year, was a work of difficulty, and was only gradually effected. Julius 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

Ctesar reformed the calendar in 46 B.C., the date of the Julian era. This made the year 
eleven minutes too long. Pe/>e Gregory X III. corrected the reckoning, in 1582, by ordering 
Oct. 5th to be called the 15th, and instituted the " Gregorian calendar." The change, or the 
" New Style," was sub.sequently adopted by Great Britain (in 1752), and by the other Protes- 
tant nations. The difference for the present century between the Old and the New Style is 
twelve days: during the last century it was eleven. The Julian civil year began with Jan. i. 
It was not until the eighteenth century that this became the uniform date for the commence- 
ment of the legal year among the Latin Christian nations. 

On the general subjects of chronology: Eiicycl. Britt., Arts. Chronology ^n^ Calejidar. 
Manuals of Reference: Rosse's Index of Dates (1858) : Haydn's Dictionary of Dates (Vin- 
cent's edition, 1866) ; Blair's Chronological Tables; Woodward and Gates, Encycl. of Chro- 
nology (1872). 

ETHNOLOGY. 

Ethnology is a new science. Its function is to ascertain the 
origin and fihation, the customs and institutions, of the various 
nations and tribes which make up, or have made up in the past, 
the human race. In tracing their relationship to one another, or 
their genealogy, the sources of information are mainly three, — 
physical characteristics, language, and written memorials of every 
sort. 

Ethnology is a branch of Anthropology, as this is a subdivision of Zoology, and this, again, 
of Biology. Ethnography differs from Ethnology in dealing more with details of description, 
and less with rational exposition. 

Races of Mankind. — Authorities differ widely from one another 
in their classification of races. Prichard made seven, which were 
reduced by Ciivier to three ; viz., Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethi- 
opic. Blumenbach made five, and Pickering eleven. It is the 
Caucasian variety which has been chiefly distinguished in history, 
and active in the building-up of civilization. None of the numer- 
ous schemes of division, from a zoological point of view, however, 
are satisfactory. 

Huxley has proposed a fourfold classification : i. The Australoid, represented by the Aus- 
tralians and the indigenous tribes of Southern India. 2. The Negroid. 3. The Mongoloid. 
4. The Xanthochroi, or fair whites, among whom are comprised most of the inhabitants of 
Northern Europe. To these are added a fifth variety, the Melanochroi, to which belong a part 
of the Celts, the Spaniards, Greeks, Arabs, etc. 

Of the various methods of race-division, A. von Humboldt says: " We fail to recognize any 
typical sharpness of definition, or any general or well-established principle, in the division of 
these groups. The extremes of form and color are certainly separated, but without regard to 
the races which can not be included in any of these classes." {Cosmos, \. ^6$-) For example, 
black skin, woolly hair, and a negro-like cast of countenance, are not necessarily connected 
together. 

Monogenism. — Zoologists, from the point of view of their 
own science, now more generally favor the monogenist doctrine, 
which traces mankind to a single pair, than the polygenist, which 
assumed different centers of origin. The present tendencies of 
natural science, especially since Darwin, are favorable to the 
monogenist view. 

" The opinion of modern Zoologists, whose study of the species and breeds of animals 
makes them the best judges, is against this view of the several origins of man, for two principal 
reasons. First, That all tribes of men, from the blackest to the whitest, the most savage to the 
most cultured, have such general likeness in the structure of their bodies and the working of 
their minds, as is easiest and best accounted for by their being descended from a common 
ancestry, however distant. Second, That all the human races, notwithstanding their form and 



lO UNIVERSAL HISTORY 

color, appear capable of freely intermarrying, and forming crossed races of every combination, 
such as the millions of mulattoes and mestizoes sprung in the New World from the mixture of 
Europeans, Africans, and native Americans: this again points to a common ancestry of all the 
races of man. We may accept the theory of the unity of mankind as best agreeing with 
ordinary experience and scientific research." (Tylor's AtUhropology, etc., pp. 5, 6.) 

Evidence of Language. — Languages, through marked affinities, 
are grouped together into several great families, i. The Aryan, 
or Indo-European, of which the oldest known branch is the 
Sanskrit, the language in which the ancient books of the Hindus, 
the Vedas, were written. With the Sanskrit belong the Iranian 
or Persian, the Greek, the Latin or Italic, the Celtic, the Germanic 
or Teutonic (under which are included the Scandinavian tongues), 
the Slavonian or Slavo-Lettic. 2. The Seinitic, embracing the 
communities described in Genesis as the descendants of Shem. 
Under this head are embraced, first, the Assyrian and Babylonian ; 
secondly, the Hebrew and Phoenician, with the Syrian or Aramaic ; 
and thirdly, the Arabic. The Phoenician was spread among numer- 
ous colonies, of which Carthage was the chief. The Arabic fol- 
lowed the course of Mohammedan conquest. It is the language 
of the northern border of Africa, and has strongly affected various 
other languages, — the Persian, Turkish, etc. 3. The Turatiian 
or Scythia?i. This is an extensive family of languages. The Finno- 
Hungarian, which includes two cultivated peoples, the Fins and 
Hungarians ; the Samoyed, stretching from the North Sea far east- 
ward to the boundary between Russia and China ; and the Turkish 
or Tartar, spreading from European Turkey over a great part ot 
Central Asia, are connected together by family ties. They spring 
from one parent stock. Whether the Mongolian and the Tungusic 
— the last is the language of the Manchus — are also thus affiliated, 
is a point not absolutely settled. 

Besides these three great divisions, there are other languages, 
as the Chinese, and the monosyllabic tongues of south-eastern 
Asia, which possibly are connected lineally with it ; the Japanese ; 
the Malay-Polynesian, a well-developed family ; the Hamitic (of 
which the Egyptian or Coptic is the principal member) ; the Dra- 
vidian or South Indian; the South African; the Central African; 
the American Indian languages, etc. 

On language and the divisions of language, W. D. Whitney, Language, and the Study of 
Language (1867), Oriental and Linguistic Studies (two series, 1872-74), Life and Growth 
of Language (1875); Art. Philology, in Encycl. Brit., vol. xviii. ; Max Miiller's Lectures 
on the Science of Language (two series), and other writings by the same author. 

Ethnology and History. — History is generally written from the 
political point of view. It is the history of nations considered separately 
and in relation to one another. There are, also, histories of culture. His- 
tory, from a cultural point of view, without paying regard to national bounda- 
ries, seeks to unfold the rise and progress of arts and industry, of inventions, 
of customs, manners, and institutions. It is the history of culture and civili- 
zation. History, from the ethnological point of view, would describe the 
migrations and experiences of the different races of men, and the formation 



INTRODUCTION. II 

of the various nationalities by these races, through conquest and intermix- 
ture. Following the divisions of linguistic science, we should have, first, the 
Egyptian race and their history. Then we should have the Semitic race, in 
the three eras of their pre-eminence, and in their various branches. Then 
would come the Aryan, or Indo-European family, whose power, except when 
interrupted and partially broken by the Mohammedan conquests, has con- 
tinued to dominate in history since the rise of the ancient Persian Empire. 

There have been three periods of Semitic ascendency, — the era of the Assyrian and Baby- 
lonian empires; that of the Phoenician cities and of Carthage (a Tyrian settlement), with their 
colonies; and that of the Arabic-Mohammedan Conquests. This last epoch falls within the Chris- 
tian era. In this course of Semitic history would be embraced the narrative of the Israelites, 
and of their dispersion in ancient and in modern times. The Indo-European, or Aryan family, 
follows next in order. In recording its history, we should consider, first, its oldest representa- 
tive of which we have knowledge, — the Indian race, with its literature, its social organization, 
and its religions, Brahmanism and Buddhism. Then come the Persians, with their religion 
founded by Zoroaster, and the Armenians. With the fall of the Ancient Persian Empire, the 
center of power was transferred from Asia to Europe, where it has since continued, though still 
in the hands of the same Aryan race. The history of the Greeks and of the Romans succeeds; 
then the history of the three races, — the Celtic, Teutonic, and Slavonian, — as they present 
themselves at the threshold of authentic history. The forming of the several nationalities of 
Europe would have to be traced: the Slavonian, including Russia and Poland; the Teutonic, 
comprising England, Holland, Germany, and the Scandinavian peoples (viz., Denmark, Sweden, 
Norway, and Iceland) ; the Romanic or Italic nations (viz., Portugal, Spain, Provence, Italy, 
Wallachia, the Orisons of Switzerland), which are the nations the basis of whose languages is 
the rustic or people's Latin of the middle ages. Such, in brief outline, is the method which 
history, from the point of view of race affinities, as these are indicated by language, would 
adopt. 

Unity of Descent. — Whether mankind are all descended from one pair 
— the Monoge7iist \-\&^, or spring from more than one center of origin — the 
Polygeiiist view, is a question which philological science can not answer. 
The facts of language are reconcilable with either doctrine. While cautious 
philologists are slow in admitting distinct afifinities between the generic fami- 
lies of speech, — as the Semitic and Indo-European, — which would be in- 
dicative of a common origin, they agree in the judgment, that, on account 
of the mutability of language, especially when unwritten, and while in its 
earlier stages, no conclusion adverse to the monogenist doctrine can be 
drawn from the diversities of speech now existing, or that are known to have 
existed at any past time. As far as science is concerned, the decision of the 
question must be left to zoology. The tendencies of natural science at pres- 
ent, as we have said above, are strongly toward the monogenist view. The 
variety of physical characteristics not only affords no warrant for assuming 
diversity of species among men ; they do not even imply diversity of par- 
entage at the beginning. 

" Nothing," says Max Miiller, " necessitates the admission of different independent begin- 
nings for the material elements" [the vocabulary] " of the Turanian, Semitic, and Aryan 
branches of speech." The same thmg Miiller affirms of "the formal elements" [the gram- 
matical structure] " of these groups of languages." " We can perfectly understand how, either 
through individual influences or by the wear and tear of speech in its continuous working, the 
different systems of grammar of Asia and Europe may have been produced." {Lecttcres on 
Language, ist series, p. 340.) The same conclusions are reached by Professor W. D. Whitney, 
who, while disclaiming for linguistic science the power to prove that the human race in the 
beginning formed one society, says, that it is " even far more demonstrable " that it can " never 
prove the variety of human races and origins." {Life and GrowtJi 0/ Language, p. 269.) 

We know that nations can learn and unlearn a language. The Irish, adopting the lan- 
guage of their English conquerors, is one of many examples of the same sort in history. 
What effects upon language took place, prior to recorded history, from the mingling of tribes 
and peoples, it is impossible to ascertain. The consequences to language, of mixture among 
different forms of speech, were like those which must have been produced upon the physical 
man from the mingling of diverse physical types in remote ages. Science, if it has no decided 
verdict to render, does not stand in conflict with the monogenist doctrine, which has generally 
been understood to be the teaching of the Scriptures. 



12 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 



MYTHOLOGY. 



The polytheistic religions are in themselves a highly interesting 
part of the history of mankind. In the multiform character that 
belongs to them we find reflected the peculiar traits of the several 
peoples among whom they have arisen. The history of religion 
stands in a close connection with the development of the fine 
arts, — architecture and sculpture, painting, music, and also poetry. 
The earliest rhythmical utterance was in hymns to the gods. To 
worship, all the arts are largely indebted for their birth and growth. 
This, however, is only one of the ways in which religion is inter- 
woven with the rise and progress of civilization. 

By mythology, we mean the collective beliefs of any tribe or nation respecting deities or 
semi-divine personages. Recent studies in language, or the science of comparative philology, 
have thrown light on the origin of mythology, and upon the afifinities of different polytheistic 
religions with one another. Among various nations belonging to the same family (as, for exam- 
ple, the peoples of the Aryan race), names of gods, and, to some extent, qualities and deeds 
attributed to them, have been identified. Myths are found to have traveled in different guises 
from land to land. At the same time, these discoveries have given rise to much unverified 
theory and conjecture. Too much stress has been laid, by certain writers, on mistakes in 
language as a source of mythology. In the primitive stage of language, all nouns had a gen- 
der, either male or female ; and verbs, even auxiliary verbs, it is alleged, expressed activity 
of some sort. On the basis of these facts it has been inferred, that, at a later day, figurative 
expressions, descriptive of natural changes, were taken as literal ; as if one should interpret 
the saying, " the sun follows the dawn," as meaning that one person pursues another. By this 
kind of misunderstanding, it has been thought, a throng of mythological tales arose. By some 
it is held that the names of animals, which had been given to ancestors, were interpreted liter- 
ally by their savage descendants, or that traditions of having come from a certain motcntain 
or river caused these natural objects to be mistakenly regarded as actual progenitors. These 
suggestions are of very limited value in solving the problem of the origin of the ethnic reli- 
gions. Much, however, has been learned from observing the rites and beliefs of existing savage 
nations. Not a few religious notions and ceremonies, once in vogue among cultivated heathen 
peoples, may be plausibly considered a survival from a more remote and barbarous condition 
of society. 

That mythology is the product of a mere exaggeration of actual events, or is an allegorical 
picture, either of the operations of nature or of human traits, is an untenable and obsolete 
view. 

We shall not err in defining the main sources of the religions to be, first, the sense of 
dependence, and the yearning for the fellowship and favor of powers " not ourselves," by 
which the lot of men is felt to be determined; secondly, the effort to explain the world of nature 
above and beneath, and the occurrences of life; and thirdly, the personifying instinct which 
belongs to the childhood of nations as of individuals. This tendency leads to the attributing 
of conscious life to things inanimate. A like tendency may impel the savage and the child to 
ascribe mind to the lower animals. The fact that language, in its earlier stage, was charged 
with personal life and activity, is itself the work of the personifying instinct. When nature is 
thus personified, where there is no sense of its unity and no capacity to rise in faith to a living 
God above nature, the result is a multitude of divinities of higher and lower rank. Myths 
respecting them are the spontaneous invention of unreflecting and uncritical, but imaginative, 
peoples. Thus they serve to indicate the range of ideas, and the moral spirit of those who 
originate and give credence to them. 

This is not the place to consider the question. What was the primitive religion of man? The 
earliest deities that history brings to our notice were not fetiches, but heavenly beings of lofty 
attributes. Whether the religions of savage tribes, in common with their low grade of intelli- 
gence, are, or are not, the result of degeneracy, is a question which secular history affords no 
means of deciding with confidence. 

It may be added, that, in historic eras, the mythopoeic fancy is not inactive. Stories of 
marvelous adventure clustered about the old Celtic King Arthur of England and the " knights 
of the Round-Table, " and fill up the chronicles relating to Charlemagne. Wherever there 
is a person who kindles popular enthusiasm, myths accumulate. This is eminently true in an 
atmosphere like that which prevailed in the mediaeval period, when imagination and emotion 
were dominant. 



INTRODUCTION. I3 



PREHISTORIC TIMES. 



Prehistoric Relics. — Within the last half century, in various 
countries of Europe, and in other countries, also, which have been, 
earlier or later, seats of civilization, there have been found numer- 
ous relics of uncivilized races, which, at periods far remote, must 
have inhabited the same ground. Many of these antiquities are 
met with in connection with remains of fossil elephants, hyenas, 
bears, etc., — with animals which no longer live in the regions re- 
ferred to, and some of which have become wholly extinct. Dwelling- 
places of these far-distant peoples — such as caves and rock-shelters, 
and the remains of the lake-habitations that were built on piles, in 
Switzerland and elsewhere — sepulchers, camps, and forts, and an 
immense number of implements and ornaments of stone and metal, 
have been examined. The most ancient of these monuments carry 
us as far back as the era called by geologists the Quaternary or 
Drift period. 

The Three Stages. — But there are marked distinctions in the 
relative age of the various relics referred to. They indicate differ- 
ent degrees of knowledge and skill ; and this proof of a succession 
of peoples, or of stages of development, is confirmed by geological 
evidence. The prehistoric time is divided into the Stone Age, the 
Age of Bronze, and the Age of Iron, according as the implements 
in use were of one or another of these materials. But the Stone 
Age includes an earlier and a later sub-division. In the first and 
most ancient section, the weapons and utensils, mostly of flint, were 
very rude in their manufacture. This was the Paleolithic Age, where 
there are no signs of habitations constructed by the hand, or of 
domesticated plants and animals. Men lived in caves, and their 
vestments were the skins of beasts. Yet, among their implements 
are found fragments of bone, horn, ivory, and stone, on which are 
carved in outline, often with much skill, representations of the rein- 
deer, the bear, the ox, and of other animals. In the Neolithic 
period, there was a decided advance. Implements are better made 
and polished. There were domestic animals and cultivated plants. 
The lake-dwellings in Switzerland were well contrived for shelter 
and defense. Every hut had its hearth. It is probable that most 
of them were furnished with a loom for weaving. Fragments of 
pottery are found, and flax was grown and made into cord, net- 
tings, etc. Stalls were constructed near the huts for the ox, the 
goat, the horse, sheep, and pigs. The lake-dwellers cultivated 
wheat and barley. The Bronze Age, Avhen implements were made 
of copper or of a mixture of copper and tin, exhibits proof of de- 
cided improvement in various directions ; and the Age of h'on, a 
still more marked advance. In the Swiss remains referred to are 
distinct traces of a transition from the Stone Age to the Age of 



14 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

Bronze, and then to the Age of Iron. The kitchen- middens, or 
shell-mounds, of Denmark belong exclusively to the Neolithic 
period. Where the transition was made from the Stone Age to 
the Age of Bronze, it apparently occurred in some cases by degrees, 
and peacefully ; but sometimes by the incoming of an invading 
people more advanced. It should be observed that the lines of 
division between these periods are not sharply drawn : implements 
of stone continued to be used after the Bronze and even the Iron 
periods had been introduced. Nor were these several ages in 
one region contemporaneous with like conditions in every other. 
Moreover, it is not possible to find in all countries once civilized 
proofs of a passage through these successive eras. In Egypt, the 
evidences of a Stone Age are scanty. The most ancient human 
remains show that man in his physical characteristics was on a level 
with man at present. 

Dr. Daniel Wilson, speaking of the age of the Flint-folk, says: " It is of no sHght impor- 
tance to perceive that the interval which has wrought such revolutions in the earth " [involving 
great geological changes and mutations of climate] " as are recorded in the mammaliferous 
drift, shows man the same reasoning, tentative, and inventive mechanician, as clearly distin- 
guished then from the highest orders of contemporary life of the Elephantine or Cave periods, 
as he is now from the most intelligent of the brute creation. . . . The oldest art-traces of the 
paleotechnic men of central France not only surpass those of many savage races, but they 
indicate an intellectual aptitude in no degree inferior to the average Frenchman of the nine- 
teenth century." (^Prehistoric Man, pp. 33, 34.) 

Literature. — Wilson, Prehistoric Ma7i, etc. (2 vols., 1876); Joly, Man before the 
Metals (1883); Kearv, The Dawji of History. The writings of E. B. TvLOR, Primitive 
Culture (2 vols.), Anthropology, Early History of Mankind ; his Art. Anthropology, 
Eiicycl. Britt. ; Lubbock's Prehistoric Times, and his Origin of Civilization ; Argyll, 
The Unity of Nature (1884); J. Geikie, Prehistoric Europe (1881) ; Lyell, The An- 
tiquity of Man ; W. E. Hearn, The Aryan Household ; L. H. Morgan, Ancient Society. 

The Antiquity of Man. — Science does not furnish us with 
the means of fixing the date of the first human inhabitants of the 
earth. But its various departments of investigation concur in 
pronouncing the interval between the creation of man and the 
present to be far longer than the traditional opinion has assumed. 
For the growth of language and its manifold ramifications ; for the 
development of the different races of mankind, physically consid- 
ered ; for the geological changes since the beginning of the Stone 
Age in the regions where its relics are uncovered ; for the rise of 
the most ancient civilization in Egypt as well as in Babylon and 
China, — it is thought that periods of very long duration are in- 
dispensable. 

As to the date of the Neolithic man, or of the last section of the Stone 
Age, Professor J. Geikie writes : " Any term of years I might suggest would 
be a mere guess ; but I have written to little purpose, however, if the phe- 
nomena described in the preceding chapters have failed to leave the impres- 
sion upon the reader, that the advent of Neolithic man in Europe must date 
back far beyond fifty or seventy centuries." [Prehistoric Etirope, p. 558.) 

The chronology gathered from Genesis has been supposed to place the date of man's creation 
at a point far less remote. Usher's calculation, attached to the authorized English Version of 
the Bible, sets this date at 4004 B.C. The discussion of these questions of Scriptural chro- 
nology belongs to theology and biblical criticism. It may be observed here, however, that of 



INTRODUCTION. 1 5 

the three forms in which Genesis is handed down to us, — the Hebrew text, the Samaritan 
Pentateuch, and the Septuagint, or ancient Greek translation, — no two agree in the numbers 
on which the estimate is founded. Hence Hales and Jackson, following the larger numbers in 
the genealogies of the Septuagint, place the date of the creation at a point about fourteen 
hundred years prior to that fixed upon by Usher. 

ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY. 

The periods of history are not divided from one another by 
merely chronological limits, according to intervals of time of a 
definite duration. Such a classification may be of use to the 
memory, but it is arbitrary in its character. The landmarks of 
history are properly placed at the turning-points where new eras 
take their start, whether the intervals between them are longer or 
shorter. 

Of these natural divisions, the most general and the most 
marked is that between ancient and modern history. Ancient 
history not only precedes modern in time : it is distinguished from 
the latter as relating to a by-gone state of things. Modern his- 
tory, on the contrary, deals with an order of things now existing. 
Between the two there is this line of demarkation. 

History (with the exception of China and India, which require 
distinct consideration, as standing apart) begins with Egypt, and 
flows down in a continuous stream, until, in the fourth century 
A.D., the Roman Empire, into which the ancient civilized peoples 
were incorporated, was broken up. Then the new nations, espe- 
cially the tribes of the Germanic race, took power into their hands ; 
Christianity was established among them ; out of the chaos of 
elements there emerged the European nations, with their offshoots, 
— the peoples at present on the stage of action. Ancient history 
had its center in the Mediterranean. It embraced the peoples who 
dwelt on the shores of that sea, in the three continents, and the 
nations that were brought into relations with them. The Roman 
Empire, the final outcome of ancient history, was " the monarchy 
of the Mediterranean." With the breaking-up of the Empire, new 
races, new centers of power, a universal religion in the room of 
national religions, and a new type of culture and civilization, were 
introduced. Invaluable legacies were handed over from the past, 
surviving the wreck of ancient civilization. There is, however, a 
unity in history : the transition from the ancient to the modern 
era was gradual. 

MEDIEVAL AND LATER MODERN HISTORY. 

Since the fall of the Roman Empire, there has occurred no revo- 
lution to be compared with the circumstances and results of that 
event. An old world passed away, and a new world began to be. 
Yet the student, as he travels hitherward, arrives at another epoch 
of extraordinary change, — a period of ferment, when modern soci- 



l6 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

ety in Europe takes on a form widely different from the character 
that had belonged to it previously. The long interval between 
ancient history and modern (in this more restricted sense of the 
term) is styled the Middle Ages. Its termination may be found 
in the fifteenth century, and a convenient date to mark the boun- 
dary-line is the capture of Constantinople by the Turks (1453). 

History thus divides itself into three parts : — 

PART I. Ancient History, to the migrations of the Germanic 

Tribes (375 A.D). 
PART II. Medieval History, from A.D. 375 to the Fall of 

Constantinople (1453). 
PART III. Modern History, from 1453 until the present. 

Works on General History. — Ranke, Universal Hzsto7y; Ploetz, Epitome of 
Ancient, Mediceval, and Moder7t History (Boston, 1884); Weber, IVdtgeschichte 
(2 vols.); AsSMANN, Ha7idbuch d. ailgenzeijien Geschichte (5 vols., 1853-1862); by the 
same, Abriss d. allgem. Gesch. (in 3 parts) ; Oncken, Allgem. Geschichte in Einzeldarstel- 
lunzefi (a series of full monographs of high merit). Copious works on Universal History, 
in German, by Weber, Schlosser, Becker, Leo. Laurent, Etudes siir VHistoire de I'H^t- 
manite (this is an extended series of historical dissertations), — The Orient and Greece 
(2 vols.); Ro7>ie (i vol.); Christia7iity (i vol.), etc. Prevost-Paradol, Essai S7ir I' His- 
toire U7iiverselle (2 vols. ; a suggestive critical survey of the course of history, with the 
omission of details) . S. Willard, Sy7iopsis of History. 




III. Europe, including (i) Greece, with its states and colonies; (z) Italy. 



PART I. 
ANCIENT HISTORY. 

FROM THE BEGINNING OF AUTHENTIC HISTORY TO THE MIGRA- 
TIONS OF THE TEUTONIC TRIBES {A.D. 375). 

Divisions of Ancient History. — Ancient history separates itself 
into two main divisions. In the first the Oriental nations form 
the subject ; in the second, which follows in the order of time, the 
European peoples, especially Greece and Rome, have the central 
place. The first division terminates, and the second begins, with 
the rise of Grecian power and the great conflict of Greece with 
the Persian Empire, 492 B.C. 

Sections of Oriental History. — But Oriental history divides 
itself into two distinct sections. The first embraces China and 
India, nations apart, and disconnected from the Mediterranean 
and adjacent peoples. China and India have a certain bond of 
connection with one another through the spread in China of the 
Buddhistic religion. The second section includes the great em- 
pires which preceded, and paved the way for, European history ; 
viz., Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria, and Persia. In this section, 
along the course of the historic stream, other nations which exer- 
cised a powerful influence, attract special attention, especially the 
Phoenicians and the Hebrews. All these Oriental peoples are 
so connected together that they stand in history as the Earliest 
Group of Nations. The historic narrative must be so shaped as 
to describe them in part singly, but, at the same time, in their 
mutual relations. 

Ancient history, from an etkno^aphical point of view, would embrace two general 
divisions, — Eastern peoples and Western peoples. The first would comprise Egyptians 
(Hamitic) : Jews, Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Lydians (Semitic) ; Hindus, Bac- 
trians, Medes, Persians (Aryan) ; Parthians, Chinese, Japanese. The second would include 
Celts, Britons, Greeks, Rpmans, Teutons (Aryan), (Ploetz, Universal History, p. i.) 

From a. geog^rap/iical -poml of view, ancient history would fall into three general divisions: 
I. Asia, including (i) India, (2) China (with Japan), (3) Babylonia and Assyria, (4) Phoe- 
nicia, (5) Palestine, (6) Media and Persia. II. Africa, including (i) Egypt, (z) Carthage. 
III. Europe, including (i) Greece, with its states and colonies; (2) Italy. 

17 



Division I. 

ORIENTAL HISTORY. 

Physical Geography. — Europe and Asia together form one vast 
continent, yet have a partial boundary between them in the Ural 
Mountains and River, and in the deep bed of the Caspian and 
Black seas. Asia, which extends from the Ural Mountains to the 
Pacific, and from the Arctic Sea to the Indian Ocean, embraces 
an immense plateau, stretching from the Black Sea to Corea. 
This plateau spreads like a fan as it advances eastward. It is 
traversed by chains of mountains, and bordered also by lofty 
mountains, of which the Himalayas is the principal range. From 
this girdle of mountains descend slopes which lead down into 
the lowlands. The great plateau is broken into two by the Hin- 
du-Kush range. The eastern division, the extensive plateau of 
Central Asia, is bordered on the north by the barren plains of 
Siberia. In the lowlands on the east and south are included the 
fertile plains of Central China and of Hindustan. The pla- 
teau of eastern Asia has been the natural abode of nomad tribes, 
Tartars and Mongols, whose invading hosts have poured through 
the passes of the mountains into the inviting territories below. 
The plateau of western Asia, stretching westward from the Indus, 
is not so high as that of the east. It begins with the lofty table- 
lands of Iran, and extends, ordinarily at a less elevation, to 
the extremity of the continent. On the south lie the plains of 
Mesopotamia. Arabia is a low plateau of vast extent, connected 
by the plateau and mountains of Syria with the mountain region 
of Asia Minor. As might be expected, civilization sprang up in 
the alluvial valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus and the 
Ganges, and on the soil watered by the great rivers of China, 
the Hoang-Ho and the Yang-tse-Kiang. Egypt was looked on 
by the Ancients as a part of Asia. Its language was distinct from 
the languages of the African nations. The seat of its power and 
thrift was the valley of the Nile. The conflicts of the nations 
settled in the lowlands with the mountainous peoples, eager for 
spoil and conquest, are a characteristic feature of Oriental His- 
tory. 

i8 



Thian Shan 



Karakonim. Ilimalaya. 
Centr. Depress. 30.000^ 

of Kuen- I i ^"^' '' 

E. Turkestan, luu. 



Plains of Siberia, 




ORIENTAL HISTORY. I9 

Character of the Asiatic Nations. — Generalizations covering 
so wide a field are, of necessity, inexact. As a rule, in the oriental 
mind, the intuitive powers eclipse the severely rational and logi- 
cal. Civilization — as, for example, in Egypt and China — attains 
to a certain grade, and is there petrified. Immobility belongs to 
the Eastern nations. Revolutions bring a change of masters, but 
leave character and customs unchanged. The sense of individ- 
uality has been less vivid, and freedom less understood or valued. 
Governments have taken the despotic form. Law has had its seat 
in the ruler's sovereign will. The ruler has been regarded as 
clothed with divine authority. Before him the subject prostrates 
himself with groveling servility. 

Religion in Asia. — Asia is the cradle of the principal religions 
of the world. Here monotheism appears, as in the faith of the 
Hebrews, and in the Mohammedan revival of it in a less pure 
form. Here have flourished polytheistic systems, each with its 
throng of divinities. In the east, pantheism, dropping out of the 
conception of the Deity the element of personality, has found a 
cherished home. 

Priesthoods. — Connected with the controlling influence of re- 
ligion have arisen the priesthoods, — sometimes ruling as an aristo- 
cratic caste or class, sometimes dividing power with the reigning 
despot, to whom sacred attributes are ascribed. 

Literature and Art. — The Oriental nature has been mirrored in 
the literature and art of the East. Its products lack the measure, 
the grace and symmetry, and the human interest, which charac- 
terize the creations of the European mind. In the mechanical 
arts, invention and discovery push on progress to a certain point, 
then languish and die out. 



Section I. 
CHINA AND INDIA. 



CHAPTER I. 
CHINA. 

China proper comprises less than half of the present Chinese 
Empire. It was called the land of Sinae or Seres by the ancients, 
and in the middle ages bore the name of Cathay. In the north 
of China are the broad alluvial plains, and in the north-eastern 
portion of the empire, an immense delta. The rest of the country 
is hilly and mountainous. 

The nucleus of the Chinese nation is thought to have been a 
band of immigrants, who are supposed by some to have started 
from the region south-east of the Caspian Sea, and to have crossed 
the head waters of the Oxus. They followed the course of the 
Hoang-Ho, or Yellow River, having entered the country of their 
adoption from the north-west ; and they planted themselves in the 
present province of Shan-se. Although nomads, they had some 
knowledge of astronomy, brought from their earlier homes ; and 
they quickly made for themselves settled abodes. The native 
tribes by degrees were extirpated or driven out. The new-comers 
cultivated grain. They raised flax, out of which they wove gar- 
ments. 

Legendary Era, to the Chow Dynasty (1123 B.C.). — The early 
annals of the Chinese, like those of other nations, are made up of 
myth and fable. The annalists placed the date of the creation at 
a point more than two millions of years prior to Confucius. The 
intervening period they sought to fill up with lines of dynasties. 
Preceding the Chow dynasty, the chroniclers give ten epochs. 
Prior to the eighth of these, there are no traces of authentic 
history. To Yew-Chaou She (the Nest-having) is given the credit 
of teaching the people to make huts of the boughs of trees. Fire 
was discovered by Suy-jin-She (the Fire-producer), his successor. 
Another ruler {Fuh-he), whose date is fixed at 2852 B.C., dis- 
covered iron. He also divided the people into classes. His 
successor invented the plow. These tales, perhaps, retain vague 



CHINA. 21 

reminiscences of the methods in which useful inventions origi- 
nated, or of the order in which they appeared. 

With Yaou (2356 B.C.) we reach the period where the narra- 
tives which were compiled many centuries later by Confucius, begin 
their story. In the mass of fable, there is a larger infusion of 
historical fact, which, however, it is well-nigh hopeless to separate 
from the fiction that is mingled with it. In that golden age, few 
laws were required. We are told that the house-door could safely 
be left open. Yaou extended the empire : he established fairs and 
marts over the land. During the reign of Shun, who followed him, 
a tremendous inundation is said to have occurred ; and Yu, called 
" the Great," was energetic in draining off the waters. He 
ascended the throne in 2205 B.C. His degenerate successors 
provoked a revolt and the introduction of a new dynasty, called 
the Shang dynasty, whose first Emperor, Tang (1760 B.C.), had 
a wise and beneficent reign. Tyranny and disaster followed 
under the later kings of this house ; until finally Woo- Wang, 
the first sovereign of the Chow dynasty, acceded to the throne 
(1123B.C.). 

The Chow Dynasty (1123-255 B.C.), — The traditions now 
become decidedly more trustworthy, although still largely mixed 
with fable. Woo - Wang was brave and upright. Under him a 
momentous change in government took place. By him the king- 
dom was divided into seventy-two feudal states. Internal divisions 
and struggles resulted from this new political system. The Tartars 
availed themselves of the weakened condition of the nation, to 
make predatory incursions. In this period of disorder and danger, 
Confucius, the great teacher of China, was born (551 B.C.). His 
father was a district magistrate, and died when the son was only 
three years old. He was trained and taught by his mother. When 
she died, he gave up all employments to mourn for her, during 
three years. His only occupation during this period was study. 
A grave and learned youth, he at length resolved to become an 
instructor of his countrymen in the ancient writings, to which he 
was devoted. He was regular in all his ways, and never ate or 
drank to excess. He gathered about him scholars ; his fame 
increased ; and, in 500 B.C., he was made magistrate of Chung- tu 
by the sovereign, Duke Ting, an office which he justly and discreetly 
administered for three years. Sometimes persecuted, he compared 
himself to a dog driven from his home. " I have the fidehty of 
that animal, and I am treated like it. But what matters the 
ingratitude of men ? They can not hinder me from doing all the 
good that has been appointed me. If my precepts are disregarded, 
I have the consolation of knowing in my own breast that I have 
faithfully performed my duty." Both by his literary works and by 
the lessons taught to his disciples, he laid the foundation of a most 



22 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

powerful and lasting influence over his countrymen. He died in 
478 B.C., at the age of seventy-three. Laou-tsze, another famous 
thinker, was a few years older than Confucius. " Three precious 
things," he said, "I prize, and hold fast, — humility, compassion, 
and economy." Mencius, a celebrated teacher and reformer, who 
followed in the path of Confucius, after a long life died in 289 
B.C. One of his doctrines was, that the nature of man is good, 
and that evil is owing to education and circumstances. One of his 
maxims was, that the people can be led aright, but can not be 
taught the reasons for the guidance to which they are subjected. 

Dynasty of Tsin (255-206 B.C.). — Reverting to the course of 
Chinese history, the next grand epoch is the enthronement of the 
Tsin dynasty, in the person of the ruler of one of the provinces, 
which, in the intestine strife among the feudal princes, gained the 
victory. This was in 255 B.C. In this hne belongs the famous 
Emperor Che Hwang- te, who, in 246 B.C., at the age of thirteen 
years, succeeded to the crown. His palace in his capital, the 
modern Se-gan Foo, the edifices which he built elsewhere, the 
roads and canals constructed by him, excited wonder. He routed 
and drove out the Tartar invaders, and put down the rebellion of 
the feudal princes. He enlarged the kingdom nearly to the limits 
of modern China proper. For the protection of the northern 
frontier he began the " Great Wall," which he did not live to 
finish. It was finished 204 B.C., ten years after it was begun. 
When finished, it was not less than fifteen hundred miles in length. 
It would reach " from Philadelphia to Topeka, or from Portugal 
to Naples." The innovations and maxims of government of Che 
Hwang-te were offensive to the scholars and the conservative class, 
who pointed the people to the heroes of the feudal days and to 
the glories of the past. For this reason, the monarch commanded 
that all books having reference to the history of the empire should 
be destroyed. He would efface the recollection of the old times. 
He would not allow his system to be undermined by tradition. 
The decree was obeyed, although hidden copies of many of the 
ancient writings were undoubtedly preserved. Numerous scholars 
were buried alive. His death, in 210 B.C., was followed by disturb- 
ances, growing out of the disaffection of the higher classes. In 
the civil war that ensued, his dynasty was subverted. The throne 
was next held by 

The Han Rulers (206 B.C. -221 A.D.). — Their sway, which 
lasted for four hundred years, covers a brilliant period in the Chi- 
nese annals. During the reign of Ming-te, 65 A.D., a deputation 
was sent to India, to obtain the sacred writings and authorized 
teachers of the Buddhistic religion, which had begun to spread 
among the Chinese. The power of the feudal lords was reduced. 
Northern Corea was conquered, and the bounds of the empire 



CHINA. 23 

extended on the west as far as Russian Turkestan. In this period, 
there was a marked revival of learning and authorship. Then 
lived a famous public officer, Yang Chen, who, when asked to take 
a bribe, and assured that no one would know it, answered, " How 
so? Heaven would know, Earth would know, you would know, 
and I should know." Under this dynasty, a custom of burying 
slaves with the dead was abolished. 

Beginning in 221 A.D., there followed the " era of the three 
kingdoms." It was an age of martial prowess, civil war, and 
bloodshed. This long period of division was interrupted in 265 
A.D. by a re-union of the greater part of the empire for a brief 
period. But discord soon sprang up ; and it was not until 590 A.D. 
that unity and order were restored by Yang-Kian, who founded 
the dynasty, named from his local dominion, Suy. 

Religion in China. — The ancient religion of China was poly- 
theistic. The supreme divinity was called Tien or Shang-ti. Tien 
signifies Heaven. Was Heaven, or Shang-ti — or the Lord — the 
visible heaven, the expanse above, clothed with the attribute of 
personality? This has been, and still is, the prevaihng opinion 
of missionaries and scholars. Dr. Legge, however, holds that Tien 
is the lord of the heavens, a power above the visible firmament ; 
and thus finds monotheism as the basis of the Chinese religious 
creed. 

The prevailing religions of China are three, — Buddhism (which 
in its original form was brought in from India in the first century 
of the Christian era), Confucianism, and Taouism. It may be 
observed, that, in all these systems, there is but a vague sense of 
personality as inhering in the heavenly powers, in comparison with 
the creeds in vogue among heathen nations generally. Another 
fact to be noted is, that, in Chinese worship, the veneration for 
ancestors, a feeling inbred in the Chinese mind, is a very prominent 
and pervading element. 

Confucius did not piofess to reveal things supernatural. His 
teaching is made up of moral and political maxims. He builds 
on the past, and always inculcates reverence for the fathers and 
for what has been. There is much wise counsel to parents and 
to rulers. His morality reaches its acme in the Golden Rule, 
which he gives, however, only in its negative relation : " Do not 
unto others what you would not that otliers should do unto you." 
Laou-tsze is a more speculative and mystical thinker. In his moral 
aphorisms, he approaches the theory of the ancient Stoics. Teh — 
i.e., virtue — is lauded. Teh proceeds from Tao. To explain 
what the Chinese sage means by Tao, — a word that signifies the 
"way," — is a puzzle for commentators and inquirers. From Tao 
all things originate : they conform to Tao, and to Tao they return. 
There are noble maxims in Laou-tsze, — precepts enjoining com- 



24 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

passion, and condemning the requital of evil with evil. Taouism 
is a type of religion which traces itself to the teaching of Laou-tsze. 
That teaching became mixed with wild speculations. Then cer- 
tain Buddhistic rites and tenets were added to it. The result, 
finally, was a compound of knavery and superstition. Taouism is 
at once mystical and rationalistic in its tone. 

Literature in China. — The Chinese language was crystallized, 
in the written form, in the monosyllabic stage of its development. 
Beginning in hieroglyphs, literal pictures of objects, and having no 
alphabet, it has so multiplied its characters and combinations of 
characters as to put great hindrances in the way of the acquisition 
of it. The utter absence of inflection may have crippled the devel- 
opment of poetry and of the drama, for which the Chinese have a 
natural taste. In these departments, Chinese productions do not 
rise above mediocrity. For this, however, the lack of imagination 
and of creative power is largely accountable. It is in the province 
of pure prose — as in historical narrations, topographical writings, 
such as geographies, and in the making of encyclopedias — that the 
Chinese have excelled. But the yoke of tradition has everywhere 
weighed heavily. In one sense, the Chinese have been a literary 
people. The system of competitive examinations for public offices 
has diffused through the nation a certain degree of book-learning ; 
yet the masses have been kept in a state of ignorance. At the 
foundation of all learning are the " nine classics," which consist of 
five works, edited or written by Confucius, of which the " Shoo 
King," or Book of History, stands at the head, together with the 
four books written by his disciples and the disciples of Mencius. 
Great as have been the services of Confucius, his own slavish rev- 
erence for the past, so stamped upon his writings, has had the 
effect to cramp the development of the Chinese mind, and to 
fasten upon it the fetters of tradition. 

Government and Civilization. — The government of China is 
" a patriarchal despotism." As father of his people, the king has 
absolute authority. The power of life and death is in his hand. 
Yet the right of revolution was taught by Confucius and Mencius, 
and the Chinese have not been slow to exercise it. The powers 
of the emperor are limited by ceremonial regulations, and by a 
body of precedents which are held sacred. He administers rule 
with the help of a privy council. Officers of every rank in the 
employ of the government constitute the aristocratic class of 
Mandarins, who are divided into different ranks. 

Invention. — Printing by wooden blocks was known in China 
as early as the sixth century A.D. Printing did not come into 
general use until the thirteenth century. The use of movable 
types, although devised, it is said, many centuries earlier, did not 
come into vogue until the seventeenth century. Gunpowder was 



INDIA. 25 

used as early as 250 A.D., in the making of fire-crackers ; but 
it was certainly as late as the middle of the twelfth century that it 
was first employed in war. The Chinese were early acquainted 
with the polarity of the loadstone, and used the compass in jour- 
neys by land long before that instrument was known in Europe. 
In various branches of manufactures, — as silk, porcelain, carved 
work in ivory, wood, and horn, — the Chinese, at least until a recent 
period, have been pre-eminent. In the mechanical arts their prog- 
ress has been slow. Their crude implements of husbandry are in 
contrast with their exhibitions of skill in other directions. Al- 
though imitation long ago supplanted the activity of inventive 
talent, to China belongs the distinction of being a civilized land 
before the Christian nations of Europe had emerged into being. 

LiTERATUKE. — Tlie Middle Kingdom, by S. Wells Williams (2 vols.) ; Encycl. Brit., 
Art. China by Professor Douglas; Arts. Co/i/ucius and Moicius by Dr. Legge; Legge, 'J'he 
Religions of China; Richthofen, China (3 vols.) ; Giles, Historic China, and Other 
Sketches (1882); Legge, T/ie Chinese Classics; Boulger, History of China (1881-84): 
Thornton, History of China. 

Japan. — The authentic history of Japan belongs mainly in the modern 
period, since the tenth century A.D. The most ancient religion of Japan, 
designated by a term which means "the. way of the gods," included a vari- 
ety of objects of worship, — gods, deified men, the mikados, or chief rulers, 
regarded as " the sons of heaven," animals, plants, etc. Unquestioning 
obedience to the mikado was the primary religious duty. It was a state- 
religion. Buddhism, brought into the country in 552 A.D., spread, and became 
prevalent. 

The Japanese are a mixed race. Kioto and the adjacent provinces are 
said to have been occupied by the conquerors. Prior to 660 B.C. we have 
no trustworthy history of the island. This is the date assigned by the Japa- 
nese to their hero, yiiiinijc Teiiiio, the first mikado, the founder of an 
unbroken line. For several centuries, however, the history is open to ques- 
tion. The tenth mikado, Snjin, is noted as a reformer, and promoter of 
civilization. An uncrowned princess, Jiiigti-Kogo (201-269 A.D.), is famous 
for her military prowess. She suppressed a rebellion, and subdued Corea. 
Ojin, a celebrated warrior, is still worshiped as a god of war. The intro- 
duction of Chinese literature and civilization at this period, makes a turning- 
point in Japanese history. 

Literature. —J. J. Rein, Japan: Travels and Researches, vol. i. (1881); E. J. Reed, 
Japan (2 vols., 1880); Siebold, Nippon (5 vols. 4to, and plates); Kampfer, History of 
Japan (2 vols, fol., 1728) ; Encycl. Brit., Art. Japan. 



CHAPTER II. 
INDIA. 



India is the central one of the three great peninsulas of Southern 
Asia. On the north is the mountainous region of the Himalayas, 
below which are the vast and fertile river plains, watered by the 
Indus, the Ganges, and other streams. On the south, separated 



26 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

from the Ganges by the Vindhya range, is the hilly and moun- 
tainous tract called the Deccan. 

The Aryan Invaders. — The history of India opens with glimpses 
of a struggle on the borders of the great rivers, — first of the Indus 
and then of the Ganges, — between an invading race, the Sanskrit- 
speaking Aryans from the north-west, and the dusky aborigines. 
These rude native tribes have left few relics but their tombs. Be- 
fore they tenanted the soil, there dwelt upon it still earlier inhab- 
itants, whose implements were of stone or bronze. The incoming 
people referred to above were of that Indo-European stock to 
which we belong. From their home, perhaps in central Asia, they 
moved in various directions. A part built up the Persian king- 
dom ; another portion migrated farther, and were the progenitors 
of the Greek nation ; and a third founded Rome. The Indian 
Aryans migrated southward from the headwaters of the Oxus at 
some time prior, doubtless, to 2000 B.C. Our knowledge of them 
is derived from their ancient sacred books, the Vedas ; of these 
the oldest, the Rig-Veda, contains ten hundred and seventeen 
lyrics, chiefly addressed to the gods. Its contents were composed 
while the Aryans dwelt upon the Indus, and while they were on 
their way to the neighborhood of the Ganges. The Rig- Veda, 
therefore, exhibits this people in their earliest stage of religious and 
social development. They were herdsmen, but with a martial 
spirit, which enabled them by degrees to drive out the native 
tribes, and compel them to take refuge in the mountains on the 
north, or on the great southern plateau. Among them women 
were held in respect, and marriage was sacred. There are beau- 
tiful hymns written by ladies and queens. No such cruel custom 
as the burning of widows existed : it was of far later origin. They 
were acquainted with the metals. Among them were blacksmiths, 
coppersmiths, goldsmiths, carpenters, and other artisans. They 
fought from chariots, but had not come to employ elephants in 
war. They were settled in villages and in towns. Mention is made 
of ships, or river-boats, as in use among them. They ate beef, 
and drank a sort of fermented beer made from the sojna plant. 

The Vedic Religion. — The early religion of the Indian Aryans 
was quite different from the system that grew up later among 
them. We do not find in it the dreamy pantheism that appears 
afterwards. It is cheerful in its tone, quite in contrast with the 
gloomy asceticism which is stamped on it in after times. The 
head of each family is priest in his own household. It is only 
the great tribal sacrifice which is offered by priests set apart for the 
service. The worship is polytheistic, but not without tendencies 
to monotheism. The principal divinities are the powers of nature. 
The deities {devd) were the heavenly or the shining ones. " It 
was the beautiful phenomenon of light which first and most power- 



INDIA. 27 

fully swayed the Aryan mind." The chief gods were the Father- 
heaven ; Indra, the god of thunder and of rain, from whom the 
refreshing showers descended ; Varuna, the encompassing sky ; and 
Agni, the god of fire. Among these Indra, from his beneficence, 
more and more attracted worship. Soma, too, was worshiped ; soma 
being originally the intoxicating juice of a plant. Brihaspati, the 
lord of prayer, personifying the omnipresent power of prayer, was 
adored. Thirty-three gods in all were invoked. The bodies of 
the dead were consumed on the funeral-pile. The soul survived 
the body, but the later doctrine of transmigration was unknown. 
All the attributes of sovereign power and majesty were collected in 
Varuna. No one can fathom him, but he sees and knows all. 
He is the upholder of order ; just, yet the dispenser of grace, 
and merciful to the penitent. Worship is made up of oblations and 
prayers. It must be sincere. The gods will not tolerate deceit. 
They require faith. Of the last things and the last times the Rig- 
Veda hardly speaks. The Vedic hymns have much to say of the 
origin of things, but little, except in the last book, of the final 
issues. 

There are four Vedas, — the Rig-Veda, which has the body of hymns; the Yajnr-Veda,ra. 
which the prescribed formulas to be used in acts of sacrifice are collected ; the Sama- Veda, 
containing the chants; and the Atharva-\ 'cda, a collection of hymns, in part of a later date. 
Besides, each Veda contains, as a second part, one or more Brdhiiianas, or prose treatises on 
the ceremonial system. In addition, there are theological works supplementary, and of later 
origin, — the intermediate Araiiyakas, and the Upanishads, which are of a speculative cast. 

Not only is nature — mountains, rivers, trees, etc. — personified in the 
Vedas : the animals — as the cow, the horse, the dog, even the apparatus of 
worship, the war-chariot, the plow, and the furrow — are addressed in prayer. 
The sacrificial fire is deified in Agni, the sacrificial drink in Soma. Indra has 
for his body-guards the Mariits, gods of the storm and lightning. He is a 
warlike god, standing in his chariot, but also a beneficent giver of all good 
gifts Varima is the god of the vast luminous heavens, in their serene ma- 
jesty. Indra, on the other hand, represents the atmosphere in its active and 
militant energy. The number of the gods is variously given. In passages, 
they are said to be many thousands. 

Rites. — There is no hierarchy among the gods. But there is a tendency 
to confuse the attributes of the different divinities. Occasionally, for the 
time being, one eclipses all the rest, and is addressed as if all others were 
forgotten. There is sometimes a tendency to regard them as all one, under 
different names. But this tendency develops itself later. Offerings consisted 
of rice, cakes, soma, etc. Victims also were sacrificed, the horse especially; 
also the goat, the buffalo, and other animals. Sacrifice purchases the gifts 
and favor of the gods. It is an expression of gratitude and dependence. It 
has, moreover, a deep, mysterious energy of an almost magical character. 

The Aryans on the Ganges. — Later, but earlier than 1000 B.C., 
we find that the Aryan invaders have moved onward in their career 
of conquest, and have planted themselves on the plains of the 
Ganges. A marvelous transformation has taken place in their 
social constitution, their religion, and in their general spirit. The 
caste system has sprung up, of which there are few traces in the 



28 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

Rig-Veda. In the first or lowest of these distinct classes are 
the Sudras, or despised serfs, who are the subjugated aborigines ; 
the second, or next higher, class is composed of the tillers of the 
soil, who are of a lower rank than the third, the warrior caste. 
These, in turn, fall below the Brahmans, or priests, who, as rites of 
worship grew more complicated, and superstition increased, gained, 
though not without a struggle, a complete ascendency. This 
marks the beginning of the sacerdotal era. The tendency of the 
farmer caste was to decrease, until, in modern times, in various 
provinces they are hardly found. The supremacy of the Brahmans 
was largely owing to their eminence as the great literary caste. 
They arose out of the families by whom the hymns had been com- 
posed, and who managed the tribal sacrifices. They alone under- 
stood the language of the hymns and the ritual. Brahman, in the 
earliest Veda, signifies a worshiper. 

Brahminical Pantheism. — The polytheism of the earlier type 
of religion was converted into pantheism. Brahma, the supreme 
being, is impersonal, the eternal source of all things, from which 
all finite beings — gods, nature, and men — emanate. It is by 
emanation, — an outflow analogous to that of a stream from its 
fountain, in distinction from creation, implying will and self-con- 
sciousness, — that all derived existences emerge into being. With 
this doctrine was connected the belief in the transmigration of souls. 
All animated beings, including plants as well as animals, partake 
of the universal life which has its origin and seat in Brahma. 
Alienation from Brahma, finite, individual being, is evil. To work 
the way back to Brahma is the great aim and hope. Absorption 
in Brahma, return to the primeval essence, is the supreme good. 
The sufferings of the present are the penalty of sins committed in 
a pre-existent state.^ If they are not purged away, the soul is con- 
demned to be embodied again and again, — it may be, in some repul- 
sive animal. This process of metem.psychosis might be repeated 
far into the indefinite future. With the doctrine of Brahma and 
of transmigration was connected the feeling that all life is sacred. 
The Brahman spared even trees and plants from destruction. Pol- 
lution or defilement might be contracted in a great variety of ways. 
There grew out of these ideas of sin, rigorous penances, most 
painful forms of self-torment. It was only by practices of this sort 
that there was hope of avoiding the retribution so much dreaded. 

The Brahminical Codes. — The principal of these codes is the 
Laws of Manu. Manu was imagined to be the first human being, 
conceived of as a sage. This code is a digest compiled by the 
priests at a date unknown, but comprising in it materials of a very 
high antiquity. Hence, while exhibiting Brahmanism in its maturer 
form, it affords glimpses of society at a much earlier date. A sec- 
ond code was compiled not earlier than the second century A.D. 



INDIA. 29 

These codes present Hindu law under three heads : (i) domestic 
and civil rights and duties, (2) the administration of justice, (3) 
purification and penance. In truth, the codes prescribe regula- 
tions for every department of life. The obligations of kings, of 
Brahmans, and of every other class, are defined in detail. One 
motive that is kept in view is to set forth and fortify the special 
privileges of the Brahminical order. 

The Philosophy of the Brahmans. — In process of time, commenta- 
ries on the Vedas were multiplied. Discord arose in the interpretation of 
the sacred books. Out of this debate and confusion there emerged, in the 
seventh and sixth centuries B.C., several philosophical systems. These aimed 
to give peace to the soul by emancipating it from the bondage of matter, 
and by imparting a sense of independence of the body and of the external 
world. 

These old philosophies are preserved in the Uf>mnshads, or Instructions. The main idea 
in these diverse systems — the Saiik/iya, the Vedaitta, etc. — is, that the soul's notion of itself 
as separate from the supreme, impersonal being, is the fallen state. This duahty must be over- 
come. Conscious of its identity with the Supreme, the soul enters into yoga, or the state of 
unison with the Infinite. He who is thus taken away from the illusions of sense, or the yogitt, 
is free from the power of things perishable. Death brings a complete absorption into the source 
of all being. It is the bliss of personal extinction. This sort of philosophy attached great 
value to contemplation and self-renunciation. It led to a light esteem of ritual practices and 
ceremonies. 

BUDDHISM. 

The Brahminical system has not ceased to maintain its suprem- 
acy in India since the time wlien it was presented to view in the 
law-codes. But it has not escaped alteration and attack. New 
movements, religious and political, have appeared to modify its 
character. Of these, Buddhism is by far the most memorable. 

The Life of Buddha. — Of the life of Buddha we have only 
legendary information, where it is impossible to separate fact from 
romance. The date of his death was between 482 and 472 B.C. 
He was then old. He belonged to the family of Gautamas, who 
were said to be of the royal line of the (^^akyas, a clan having its 
seat about a hundred and thirty-seven miles north of Benares. The 
story is, that, brought up in luxury, and destined to reign, he was 
so struck with the miseries of mankind, that, at the age of twenty- 
nine, he left his parents, his young wife, and an only son, and retired 
to a solitary life to meditate upon the cause of human suffering. 
From Brahminical teachers he could obtain no solution of the 
problem. But after seven years of meditation and struggle, during 
which sore temptations to return to a life of sense and of ease were 
successfully resisted, he attained to truth and to peace. For forty- 
four years after this he is said to have promulgated his doctrine, 
gathering about him disciples, whom he charged with the duty of 
spreading it abroad. 

The Buddhistic Doctrine. — Buddhism was not a distinct revolt 
against the reigning system of religion. Buddha left theology to 
the Brahmans. Indra, Agni, and the other divinities, and the ser- 



30 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

vices rendered to them, he left untouched. Being an anchorite, 
he was not required to concern himself with the rites and observ- 
ances in which others took part. His aim was practical. His 
doctrine, though resting on a theoretical basis, was propounded 
simply as a way of salvation from the burdens that oppressed the 
souls of men. Nor did he undertake a warfare against caste. 
The blessing of deliverance from the woes of life he opened to 
all without distinction. This was the limit of his opposition to 
caste. 

The Road to Nirvana. — Buddha taught, (i) that existence is 
always attended with misery; (2) that all modes of misery re- 
sult from passion, or desire unsatisfied; (3) that desire must be 
quenched ; (4) that there are four steps in doing this, and thus 
of arriving at Nirvana, which is the state in which self is lost 
and absorbed, and vanishes from being. These four ways are ( i ) 
the awakening to a perception of the nature and cause of evil, 
as thus defined; (2) the consequent quenching of impure and 
revengeful feelings; (3) the stifling of all other evil desires, also 
riddance from ignorance, doubt, heresy, unkindliness, and vexa- 
tion ; (4) the entrance into Nirvana, sooner or later, after death. 
The great boon which Buddha held out was escape from the hor- 
rors of transmigration. He attributed to the soul no substantial 
existence. It is the Karma, or another being, the successor of one 
who dies, the result and effect of all that he was, who re-appears 
in case of transmigration. Buddhism involved atheism, and the 
denial of personal immortality, or, where this last tenet was not 
explicitly denied, uncertainty and indifference respecting it. On 
the foundation of Buddha's teaching, there grew up a vast system 
of monasticism, with ascetic usages not less burdensome than the 
yoke of caste. The attractive feature of Buddhism was its moral 
precepts. These were chiefly an inculcation of chastity, patience, 
and compassion ; the unresisting endurance of all ills ; sympathy 
and efficient help for all men. 

Deification of Buddha. — By the pupils of Buddha he was glo- 
rified. He was placed among the Brahminical gods, by whom he 
was served. A multitude of cloisters were erected in his honor, in 
which his relics were believed to be preserved. On the basis of 
the simpler doctrine and precepts of the founder, there accumu- 
lated a mass of superstitious beliefs and obseivances. 

The Spread of Buddhism. — After the death of Buddha, it is 
said that his disciples, to the number of five hundred, assembled, 
and divided his teaching into three branches, — his own words, 
his rules of discipline, and his system of doctrine. During the 
next two centuries Buddhism spread over northern India. One 
of the most conspicuous agents in its diffusion was Asoka, the king 
of Behar, who was converted to the Buddhistic faith, and published 



INDIA. 31 

its tenets throughout India. His edicts, in which they were set 
forth, were engraved on rocks and pillars and in caves. He or- 
ganized missionary efforts among the aborigines, using only peace- 
ful means, and combining the healing of disease, and other forms 
of philanthropy, with preaching. He carried the Buddhistic faith 
as far as Ceylon. It spread over Bicnnah (450 A.D.). Siain was 
converted (638 A.D.), and Java between the fifth and seventh 
centuries of our era. Through Central Asia the Buddhistic mis- 
sionaries passed into China in the second century B.C., and 
Buddhism became an established system there as early as 65 A.D. 
At present, this religion numbers among its professed adherents 
more than a third of the human race. 

The Brahminical Re-action. — In India Buddhism did not sup- 
plant the old religion. The Brahmans modified their system. 
They made their theology more plain to the popular apprehen- 
sion. They took up Buddhistic speculations into their system. 
But they rendered their ceremonial practices more complex and 
more burdensome. Their ascetic rule grew to be more exacting 
and oppressive. In diffusing and making popular their system, 
customs, like the burning of widows, were introduced, which were 
not known in previous times. The divinities, Brahma, the author 
of all things, Vishnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer, were 
brought into a relation to one another, as a sort of triad. Suc- 
cessive incarnations of Vishnu became an article of the creed, 
Krishna being one of his incarnate names. For centuries Brah- 
manism and Buddhism existed together. Gradually Buddhism de- 
cayed, and melted into the older system ; helping to modify its 
character, and thus to give rise to modern Hinduism. For ten 
centuries Buddhism, with multitudinous adherents abroad, has had 
no existence in the land of its birth. 

The Greek-Roman Period. — In 327 B.C., Alexander the Great 
advanced in his victorious career as far as India, entered the Pun- 
jab, which was then divided among petty kingdoms, and defeated 
one of the kings. Fonts, who disputed the passage of the river 
Jhelum. The heat of the climate and the reluctance of his 
troops caused the Macedonian invader to turn back from his 
original design of penetrating to the Ganges. Near the conflu- 
ence of the five rivers he built a town, Alexandria. He founded, 
also, other towns, established alliances, and left garrisons. On the 
death of Alexander (323 B.C.) and the division of his empire, 
Bactria and India fell to the lot of Seleucus Nicator, the founder 
of the Syrian monarchy. About this time a new kingdom grew 
up in the valley of the Ganges, under the auspices of Chandra 
Giipti, a native. After various conflicts, Seleucus ceded the 
Greek settlements in the Punjab to this prince, to whom he gave 
his daughter in marriage. The successors of Seleucus sent Grsco- 



32 UNIVERSAT. HISTORY. 

Bactrian expeditions into India. Thus Greek science and Greek 
art exerted a perceptible influence in Hindustan. During the first 
six centuries of the Christian era, Scythian hordes poured down 
into northern India. They were stoutly resisted, but effected settle- 
ments, and made conquests. The events as well as the dates of 
the long struggle are obscure. The non- Aryan races of India, both 
on the north and on the south of the Ganges, many of whom 
received the Buddhistic faith, were not without a marked influence 
— the precise lines of which it is difficult to trace — upon the his- 
tory and life of India during the period of Greek and Scythic oc- 
cupation and warfare. The Dravidian people in southern India, 
made up of non- Aryans, number at present forty-six miUions. 

Literature. — Mill's History of India (Wilson's edition, g vols.); Monier Williams, 
Indian Wisdom; Max MnWer's History of Sanskrit Literatztre ; Barth's The Religions 
of India, iZiz; Encycl. Brit., Arts. India, Brahtnanisju, Buddhism. 



Section II, 
THE EARLIEST GROUP OF NATIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 
EGYPT. 

The Land and the People. — When the curtain that hides the 
far distant past is lifted, we find in the valley of the Nile a people 
of a dark color, tinged with red, and a peculiar physiognomy, who 
had long existed there. Of their beginnings, there is no record. 
It is not likely that they came down the river from the south, as 
• some have thought ; more probably they were of Asiatic origin. 
Their language, though it certainly shows affinities with the Semitic 
tongues in its grammar, is utterly dissimilar in its vocabulary : its 
modern descendant is the Coptic, no longer a spoken dialect. 
The Egyptians were of the Caucasian variety, but not white like 
the Lybians on the west. On the east were tribes of a yellowish 
complexion and various lineage, belonging to the numerous people 
whom the Egyptians designated as Aimi. On the south, in what 
was called Ethiopia, was a negro people ; and, also beyond them 
and eastward, a dusky race, of totally different origin, a branch of 
the widely diffused Cushites. 

The Nile : Divisions of the Country. — Egypt (styled by its 
ancient inhabitants, from the color of the soil deposited by the 
Nile, Kem or the Black Land, and by the Hebrews called Miz- 
raini) is the creation of the great river. '"Egypt," says Herodotus, 
"is the gift of the Nile ;" and this is not only true, as the historian 
meant it, physically, because it is the Nile that rescued the land 
from the arid waste by which it is bordered ; but the course of 
Egyptian history — the occupations, habits, and religion of the 
people — was largely determined by the characteristics of the river. 
The sources of the Nile have had in all ages the fascination of 
mystery, and have been a fruitful theme for conjecture. It was 
reserved for modern explorers to ascertain that it takes its rise in 
equatorial Africa, in the two great lakes, the Albert and Victoria 
Nyanzas. From that region, fed by few tributaries, it flows to the 

33 



34 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

Mediterranean, a distance of two thousand miles, but breaks, as it 
nears the sea, into two main and several minor arms. These spread 
fruitfulness over the broad plain called, from its shape, the Delta. 
Above the Delta the fringe of productive land has a width of 
only a few miles on either side of the stream. Its fertility is due 
to the yearly inundation which, as the effect of the rainfall of 
Abyssinia, begins early in July, and terminates in November, when 
the river, having slowly risen in the interval to an average height 
of twenty-three or twenty-four feet, reaches in its gradual descent 
the ordinary level. This narrow belt of territory, annually en- 
riched with a layer of fertile mud, is in striking contrast with the 
barren regions, parched by the sun, on either side, with the long 
chain of Arabian mountains that adjoin it on the east, and with 
the low hills of the Lybian desert on the west. By dikes, canals, 
and reservoirs, the beneficent river from the most ancient times 
has been made to irrigate the land above, where are the towns and 
dwellings of the people, and thus to extend and keep up its unri- 
valed fertility. The country of old was divided into two parts, — 
Upper Egypt, as it is now called, with Thebes for its principal city, 
extending from the first cataract, near Syene, to the Memphian 
district ; and Lower Egypt, embracing the rest of the country on 
the north, including the Delta. The two divisions were marked 
by differences of dialect and of customs. The country was fur- 
ther divided into nomes, or districts, about forty in all, but varying 
in number at different times. They were parted from one another 
by boundary stones. Each had its own civil organization, a cap- 
ital, and a center of worship. 

Early Culture. — At a far remote day, there existed in Lower 
Egypt an advanced type of culture. Sepulchers, with their in- 
scriptions and sculptures, were made of so solid material that 
they have remained to testify to this fact. When the pyramids 
were built, mechanical skill was highly developed, Egyptian art 
had reached a point beyond which it scarcely advanced, and 
the administration of government had attained substantially to the 
form in which it continued to exist. The use of writing, the di- 
vision of the year, the beginnings of the sciences and of literature, 
are found in this earliest period. Egyptian culture, as far as we 
can determine, was not borrowed. It was a native product. The 
earliest period was the period of most growth. The prevailing 
tendency was to crystallize all arts and customs into definite, 
established forms, and to subject every thing to fixed rules. The 
desire to preserve what had been gained overmastered the im- 
pulses to progress : individuality and enterprise were blighted by 
an excessive spirit of conservatism. Moreover, the culture of 
the Egyptians never disengaged itself from its connection with 
every-day practical needs, or the material spirit that lay at its 



EGYPT. 35 

root. They did not, like the Greeks, soar into the atmosphere 
of theoretical science and speculation. They did not break 
loose from the fetters of tradition. 

The Hieroglyphics. — We owe our knowledge of ancient Egypt chiefly 
to hieroglyphical writing. The hieroglyphs, except those denoting numbers, 
were pictiares of objects. The writing is of three kinds. The first, the 
hieroglyphical, is composed of literal pictures, as a circle, O, for the sun, 
a curved line, ( or — , for the moon, a pointed oval, <=>, for the mouth. The 
second sort of characters, the hieratic, and the third, the demotic, are curtailed 
pictures, which can thus be written more rapidly. They are seldom seen on 
the monuments, but are the writing generally found on the papyrus rolls or 
manuscripts. They are written from right to left. The hieroglyphs proper 
may be written either way, or in a perpendicular line. In the demotic, or 
people's writing, the characters are somewhat more curtailed, or abridged, 
than in the hieratic, or priestly, style. There were four methods of using 
the hieroglyphics in historical times. First, there were the primary, repre- 
sentational characters, the literal pictures. Secondly, the characters were 
used figuratively, as symbols. Thus a circle, O, meant not only the sun, but 
also " day " ; the crescent, '— , denoted not only the moon, but also " a month ; " 
a pen and inkstand signified " writing," etc. So one object was substituted for 
another analogous to it, — as the picture of a boot in a trap, which stood for 
"deceit." A conventional emblem, too, might represent the object. Thus, 
the hawk denoted the sun, two water-plants meant Upper and Lower Egypt. 
Thirdly, hieroglyphics were used as determin? fives. That is, an object 
would be denoted by letters (in a way that we shall soon explain), and a 
picture be added to detertnine, or make clear, what was meant. After proper 
names, they designated the sex ; after the names of other classes, as animals, 
they specified the particular genus. Fourthly, the bulk of the hieroglyphs 
are phonetic. They stand for sounds. The picture stood for the initial 
sound of the name of the object depicted. Thus the picture of an eagle, 
akhom, represented " A." Unfortunately, numerous objects were employed for 
a like purpose, to indicate the same sound. Hence the number of characters 
was multiplied. The whole number of signs used in writing is not less than 
nine hundred or a thousand. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone — a large 
black slab of stone — with an identical inscription in hieroglyphics, in demotic 
and in Greek, furnished to Champollion (i8io) and to Young the clew to 
the deciphering of the Egyptian writing, and thus the key to the sense of 
the monumental inscriptions. The Eg3'-ptian manuscripts were made of the 
pith of the byblus plant, cut into strips. These were laid side by side hori- 
zontally, with another layer of strips across them ; the two layers being united 
by paste, and subjected to a heavy pressure. The Egyptians wrote with a 
reed, using black and red ink. 

Sources of Knowledge of Egyptian History. — These are (i) the inscriptions 
on the monuments. These, it must be remembered, are commonly in praise of the departed, 
and of their achievements. (2) The list of kings in the Turin papyrus, a very important Egyp- 
tian manuscript, discovered by Champollion. (3) Manetlw. An Egyptian priest, he wrote, 
about 250 B.C., a history. Only his lists of dynasties are preserved as given in an Armenian 
version of Eiisebius, a writer of the fourth century, and in George Synccltus, a writer of the 
eighth century, who professed to embody the statements of Eusebius and of another author, 
Julins A/rzcanns, probably of the second century, who had also quoted the lists of IManetho. 
Manetho is of great importance; but we do not know accurately what his original text was, 
it being so differently reported. His details frequently clash with the monuments. Moreover, 
the method adopted by him in making his lists is, in essential points, subject to doubt. (4) The 
Greek historians. Herodotus had visited Eg>'pt (between 460 and 450 B.C.), and conferred with 
Egyptian priests. Diodorits, also, in the time of Julius Csesar, had visited Egypt. He is 
largely a copyist of Herodotus. (5) The Old Testament. Here we have many instructive 
references to Egj'pt. But, until Rehoboam, the kings of Egypt have in the Scriptures the 
general name o{ Pharaoh. Hence it is not always easy to identify them with corresponding 
kings on the Egyptian lists. 



36 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

Chronology. — The date of the beginning of the first dynasty of 
Egyptian rulers is a controverted point ; there are advocates of a 
longer and of a shorter chronology. The data are not sufficient 
to settle accurately the questions in dispute. Some judicious 
scholars put the beginning of the first dynasty as early as 5000 
B.C. ; others have wished to bring it down even lower than 3000 
B.C. Egyptian history, prior to the Persian conquest (525 B.C.), 
divides itself into three sections, — the Old Empire, having its 
seat at Memphis ; the Middle Empire, following upon a period of 
strife and division, and embracing the rule of foreign invaders, the 
Hyksos ; and the New Empire, the era of conquest, by foreign 
power, and of downfall. 

The expedition of Shishak, king of Egypt, against Rehoboam, is ascertained, from both 
Egyptian and Hebrew sources, to have been not earlier than 971 B.C., and within twenty-five 
years of that date. The nineteenth Egyptian dynasty began about the year 1350 B.C. The 
Middle Empire is thought by some to have commenced as early as 2200 B.C. ; by others as late 
as 1720 B.C. When we go backward into the Old Empire, the sources of uncertainty are multi- 
plied. The main difficulty is to determine whether the lists of dynasties are consecutive through- 
out, or in part contemporary. One class of scholars place the date of the first historic king, 
Menes, two or three thousand years earlier than the point assigned by the other class ! The 
date of Menes given by Bdckh is 5702 B.C. ; by Leiiorjnant, 5004 B.C. ; by j5r«^.jrA, 4455 B.C. ; 
hy Lepsius, 3852 B.C.; by Bjinsen, 3623 or 3059 B.C.; E. Meyer makes 3180 B.C. the lowest 
possible date for Menes; 3233 B.C. is the date assigned by Dinicker. On the contrary, R. S. 
Poole gives 2717 B.C.; Wilkinson, i^^i B.C.; and G. Rawlinson, between 2450 and 2250 
B.C. There are no means of fully determining the controversy, as Rawlinson has shown {His- 
tory of Ancieiit Egypt, vol. ii-, p. 19). It appears to be well ascertained that Egyptian civiliza- 
tion was in being at least as far back as about 4000 B.C. 

The Political System. — The bulk of the people were farmers 
and shepherds, indisposed to war. The land was owned in large 
estates by the nobles, who were possessed of multitudes of serfs and 
of cattle. They had in their service, also, artisans, oarsmen, and 
traffickers. The centers of industry were the numerous cities. 
Here the nobles had their mansions, and the gods their temples 
with retinues of priests. But the Nomes had each its particular 
jurisdiction. The traces of two original communities are preserved 
in the mythological legends and in the titles of the kings. The 
oldest inscriptions discover to us a systematic organization of the 
state. The king is supreme : under him are the rulers of the two 
halves of the kingdom. He creates the army, and appoints its gen- 
erals. The whole strength of the kingdom is given to him for the 
erection of the temples which he raises to the gods, or of the stu- 
pendous pyramid which is to form his sepulcher. The nobility 
make up his court ; from them he selects his chief officers of state, 
— his secretary, his treasurer, his inspector of quarries, etc. The 
princes and princesses are educated in connection with the children 
of the highest nobles. A body-guard protects the monarch : he 
shows himself to the people only in stately processions. All who 
approach him prostrate themselves at his feet. He is the descend- 
ant of the gods. The Pharaohs are even looked upon as gods 
incarnate. They are clothed with all power on earth. When they 



EGYPT. 37 

die, they go to the gods ; and rites of worship are instituted for 
them. That there was a well-ordered and efficient civil adminis- 
tration admits of no doubt. Whether there existed a thrifty mid- 
dle class or not we can not decide. The tendency was for the child 
to follow the vocation of the parent, but there were no rigid 
barriers of caste. Not until the New Empire, was there an attempt 
to build up such a wall even about the priesthood. 

The Religion. — With the Egyptians, religion was a matter of 
supreme and absorbing interest. There was a popular religion ; 
and there arose early, in connection with it, an esoteric or secret 
doctrine relative to the gods and to the legends respecting them, 
— a lore that pertained especially to the priesthood. Moreover, 
vi'hile the religious system, from the earliest date, is polytheistic, 
we have proof that the educated class, sooner or later, put a mono- 
theistic interpretation upon it, and believed in one supreme deity, 
of whom all the particular gods were so many forms and manifes- 
tations, or that one being under different names. Whether this 
more elevated faith preceded the reigning system, or was a later 
offspring of it, is a matter of dispute. For a long period the two 
co-existed, and without collision. 

The great divinities of Egypt are pre-eminently gods of light. They are 
associated with the sun. With the agency of that luminary, with his rising 
and setting, they stand in a close relation. All Egypt worships the sun under 
the names of Ra and Horns. Horus is the adversary of Setk (called Typhoit 
by the Greeks), the god of darkness, and is born anew every morning to at- 
tack and conquer him. In honor of Ra, the lofty obelisks, or symbols of the 
sun's rays, are erected, each of which has its own name and priests. With 
the sun-gods are joined the goddesses of the heavens, — Nut, Hatkor, Isis, and 
others. But Osiris became the most famous sun-god. His worship was origi- 
nally at Abydos and Busiris. At length his cult spread over the whole land. 
In the legend, he is murdered by Seth ; but Horus is his avenger. Horus con- 
quers the power of darkness. Henceforward Osiris reigns in the kingdom of 
the West, the home of the dead. He is the sun in the realm of the shades. 
He receives the dead, is their protector, and the judge whose final award 
is blessedness or perpetual misery. The departed, if their lives have not 
been wicked, become one with him. They are each of them called by his 
name. To Osiris, all sepulchral inscriptions are addressed. His career, with 
the victory of the power of darkness over him, and his glorious revival in 
the regions of the West, typifies human life and destiny. The principal god 
at Memphis is Pta/i, the primal divinity, the former of heaven and earth; yet, 
perhaps, a god of light, since he is styled by the Greeks, Ht'ph(£stiis. At 
Thebes, Amnion was revered as the king of the gods : he shared in the proper- 
ties of the sun. Thoth is the chief moon-god, who presides over the reckon- 
ing of time. He is the god of letters and of the arts, the author of sacred 
books. The Nile is worshiped under the name of Hapi, being figured as a 
man with pendent breasts, an eml:)lem of the fertility of the river. The gods 
were often connected in triads, there being in each a father, a mother, and a 
son. To bring to them the right offerings, and to repeat the right formulas, 
was a matter of momentous concern. Homage was directed to the material 
objects with which the activity of the god was thought to be connected, and 
in which he was believed to be present. All nature was full of deities. 
There were sacred trees, stones, utensils. Above all, animals, in their mys- 



38 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

terious life, were identified with the divinities. Worship was offered to the 
crocodile, the cat, the bull, etc. In the temples these creatures were carefully 
tended and obsequiously served. 

Embalming. — Believing that the soul survives death, the Egyptians 
linked its weal with the preservation of the body, from which they could 
not conceive its destiny to be wholly dissevered. Thus arose the universal 
practice of embalming, and of presenting, at intervals, offerings of food and 
drink to the departed. The tomb contains a room for sacred services to the 
dead. The most ancient structures are sepulchers. They were the germ of 
the pyramid, in which rested the sarcophagus of the king. 

Religion and Morality. — The leading gods were held to be the makers 
of the world and of men, the givers of good, the rulers and disposers of all 
things. Morality was not separated from religion. The gods punished un- 
righteousness and inhumanity. In the age of the pyramid-builders, family 
life was not wanting in purity; the wife and mother was held in respect: 
monogamy prevailed. Ma-t was the goddess of truth : in the myth of Osiris, 
it is in her hall that the dead are judged. 

The Priests. — The priests are the guardians of religious rites. They 
are acquainted with the origin and import of them. Their knowledge is 
communicated only to select believers. It was a body of traditions, guarded 
as a mysterious treasure. But the priests, certainly until a late period, do 
not control the king. The civil authority is uppermost. 

Literature and Science. — The most important Egyptian book that 
has come down to us is the Book of the Dead. It relates, in a mystical strain, 
the adventures of the soul after death, and explains how, by reciting the 
names and titles of numberless gods, and by means of other theological 
knowledge, the soul can make its way to the hall of Osiris. It is a monument 
of the pedantic and punctilious formalism of the Egyptian ritual. Most of 
the papyri that have been preserved are of a religious character. There are 
songs not void of beauty. The moral writings are of a decidedly higher 
grade. Works of fiction are constructed with considerable skill, and are some- 
times not wanting in humor. Some of the hymns are not destitute of merit. 
It can not be doubted that there were important mathematical writings. 
Astronomical observations were very early made. In medicine, we have 
writings which prove that considerable proficiency was attained in this de- 
partment. But here, as in other branches, the spirit was empirical rather 
than scientific in the higher sense ; and the result was to petrify knowledge 
in an unalterable form. At length rules of medical treatment, with specific 
remedies, were definitely settled, from which it was a crime against the state 
to deviate. 

The Old Empire (to about 2100 B.C.). — Senoferu, who belongs 
to the third dynasty, is the first king who has left behind him a 
monumental inscription. A rock-tablet in the peninsula of Sinai 
gives him the title of conqueror. By some, the pyramid of Mey- 
doun, built in three distinct stages to a height of 125 feet, is 
ascribed to him, and is believed to be his sepulcher. At Saccarah 
is a pyramid of like form, 200 feet in height. Khufii, the Cheops 
of Herodotus, was the builder of the " Great Pyramid " of Ghi- 
zeh, the largest and loftiest building on earth. Its original perpen- 
dicular height was not less than 480 feet, the length of its side 
764 feet, and the area covered by it more than thirteen acres. 
Near it are the small pyramids, which were the sepulchers of his 
wives and other relatives. The statues of Khafra remain, and 
the wooden mummy-case of Menkaura, with the myth of Osiris 



EGYPT. 39 

recorded on it. These were the builders of the two other most 
celebrated pyramids, the second and the third. With the long 
reign of Unas closes the first era in Egyptian history. His un- 
finished pyramid, built of huge blocks of limestone, indicates that 
he died too soon to complete it. From this date, back to the 
epoch of Seuoferu, are included nearly three centuries. In this 
period of prevalent peace, art had the opportunity to develop. 
The spirit of progress in this department had not yet been cramped 
by the " hieratic canon," the fixed rules set for artistic labor. There 
is evidence of considerable knowledge in anatomy and medicine. 
The myth of Osiris expanded, and his worship spread. 

With the sixth dynasty a new epoch begins. The most powerful 
monarch in this series is Pepi. He levied armies, conquered the 
negroes of Nubia, and waged war against the nomads of the east- 
ern desert. The interval from the sixth to the tenth dynasty was 
marked by usurpations and insurrections. The district governors 
sought to make themselves independent. Monarchs rose and fell. 
Syrian invaders appear to have seized the occasion to attack the 
country. Heliopolis, with Turn for its sun-god, is the center of the 
new symbolical lore of the priesthood. Power is transferred to 
Thebes, and Ammon becomes the embodiment of the monotheistic 
conception, the supreme deity. 

The Theban ruling-house gradually extended its supremacy 
over the land. The kings of the twelfth dynasty have left their 
inscriptions everyu'here, and of several of them gigantic portrait- 
statues remain. Amenenihat I. and his successors are prosperous 
sovereigns. They carry on a lively intercourse of trade with the 
small states of Syria, reaching possibly to Babylon. Under the 
twelfth dynasty, the valley of the upper Nile was conquered. 
Usurtasen III., in after times, was revered as the subduer of the 
Nubian land. By monarchs of this epoch, vast structures, like the 
temple of Ammon at Thebes and the temple of the Sun at Heli- 
opolis, were erected. Anieneinhat III. built the immense artifi- 
cial reservoir, Lake Moeris, to receive and dispense the waters of 
the Nile. Under the twelfth dynasty is the blossoming period 
of literature. The carving of hieroglyphics and the execution 
of the details of art reach their perfection. It is the culminating 
point of Egyptian culture. 

The Middle Empire (from about 2100 to 1600 B.C.). — The 
season of prosperity under the twelfth dynasty was followed by an- 
archy and the downfall of the Theban rule. According to Manetho, 
it was under a king named Timaos that a horde of invaders — the 
Hyksos, or "shepherds^' — came in from the north, devastated 
the country, and made themselves its rulers. They were probably 
of Semitic descent, but nothing more is known as to their origin. 
In connection with them, Semitic, and in particular Canaanite, ele- 



40 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

ments penetrated into Egypt, and left their traces in its language. 
The residence of their kings was Tanis, on the eastern Delta, 
a splendid city, which they still more adorned. They conquered 
Memphis, but their power was not permanently established in 
Lower Egypt. The duration of their control was a number of 
centuries, — how many can only be conjectured. It is believed 
by some scholars that either Apepi or Nub, kings of the Hyksos 
line, was the sovereign who made Joseph his prime minister, and 
invited his family to settle in the land of Goshen. The elevation 
of a foreigner and a Semite to an exalted office is thought to be 
less improbable in connection with a Semitic dynasty. 

The New Empire (from 1600 to 525 B.C.). — The expulsion of 
the Hyksos was effected by Aakmes /., first king of the eighteenth 
dynasty. It was accomplished, however, not all at once, but gradu- 
ally. From this event Egypt enters on a new stage in its career. 
It becomes a military, an aggressive, and a conquering state. Not- 
withstanding the enormous sacrifice of life that must have been 
involved in the erection of pyramids and in other public works, 
the Egyptians had not been a cruel people : compared with most 
Semitic peoples, they had been disposed to peace. But now a 
martial spirit is evoked. A military class arises. Wars for plunder 
and conquest ensue. The use of horses in battle is a new and sig- 
nificant fact. The character of the people changes for the worse. 
The priestly class become more compact and domineering. Tem- 
ples are the principal edifices, in the room of massive sepulchers. 

Under Thothmes I. and his successors, especially Thothmes III., wars 
were successfully waged against the Syrians, and against the Ethiopians on 
the south. The palaces and temples of Thebes, including the gigantic struc- 
tures at Karnak and Luxor, are witnesses to the grandeur of these monarchs. 
The Egyptian arms were carried through Syria, and as far even as Nineveh. 
During the reigns of Amenophis III. and Amenophis IV., that is, in the latter 
half of the fifteenth century B.C., the Amarna Letters (see p. 44) were written. 
Under the Ramessides, the conquests of Egypt reached their farthest limit. 

Ramses II. — Ramses II., or Ramses the Great (1340-1273 
B.C.), — who was called by the Greeks Sesostris, a name with 
which they linked many fabulous narratives, — is the most brilliant 
personage in Egyptian history. He is the first of the renowned 
conquerors, the forerunner of the Alexanders and Napoleons. His 
monuments are scattered over all Egypt. In his childhood he was 
associated on the throne with his father, himself a magnificent 
monarch, Setl I. In the seventh year of the sole reign of the son 
he had to encounter a formidable confederacy under the lead of 
the Syrian Hittites — the "Khita" — in the north-east, a powerful 
nation. How he saved himself by his personal valor, on the field 
of Kadesh, is celebrated in the Egyptian Iliad, the heroic poem 
of Pentaur. A subsequent treaty with this people is one of the 
most precious memorials of his reign. 



EGYPT. 41 

The Hittites. — Recent explorations have shown that the Hittites of 
Scripture were families, or smaller communities, in Palestine, of a people 
whose proper seat was in northern Syria, especially the country lying along 
the Orontes ; their territory being bounded on the east by the Euphrates, and 
extending westward into the Taurus Mountains. In one place they are spoken 
of as distant (Judg. i. 26). The " Khita " of the Egyptians, called "Khatti " 
by the Assyrians, were a civilized and powerful nation, whose sway was so 
extended that their outposts were at times on the western coast of Asia Minor. 
They were a non-Semitic people. The great victory of Ramses (1320 B.C.) 
was with difficulty won. The Hittites were also rivals of the Assyrians from 
an early period. At length Sargon captured their capital, Carchemish (717 
B.C.), and broke down their power. Numerous Hittite inscriptions have been 
discovered, written in a hieroglyphic script which has not yet (1903) been 
deciphered. 

Subsequently we find Ramses in Galilee, as it was called later : 
we find him storming the city oi Askalofi in Philistia, and in various 
military expeditions, in which he brought home with him multi- 
tudes of captives. The mighty temples which he built at Abydos, 
Thebes, and Memphis, and the gorgeous palace, " the House of 
Ramses," south of Karnak, were in keeping with other displays 
of his energy and magnificence. 

The Bondage of the Israelites. — Ramses II. has been generally 
believed to be "the Pharaoh of the oppression," under whom the Hebrews 
suffered ; and his son Jlfenephthah, to be the Pharaoh under whom the exodus 
took place. Recent discoveries have rendered these conclusions very doubt- 
ful, however. It is also quite uncertain how long the Egyptian bondage 
lasted. According to the Hebrew Old Testament, its duration was 430 years ; 
according to the SepUcagini, or Greek version, half that period (as implied in 
Gal. iii. 17). 

To THE Persian Conquest. — From about 1500 to 1300 B.C., 
Egypt was the foremost nation in culture, arts, and military prowess. 
Under the later kings bearing the name of Ramses, the empire 
began to decay. The Ethiopians in the south revolted, and set up 
an independent kingdom, Meroe, of which Napata was the capital. 
Shishak (961-940 B.C.) aspired to restore the Egyptian rule in 
the East. He marched into Judsea, and captured and plundered 
Jerusalem. He made Rehoboam, king of Judah, a tributary, and 
strengthened Jeroboam, the ally of Egypt. He even led his forces 
across the valley of the Jordan. At length (730 B.C.) the Ethi- 
opians gained the upper hand in Egypt. Their three kings form 
the twenty-fifth dynasty. As the power of Egypt was on the wane, 
the power of Assyria was more and more in the ascendant. Sliabak 
joined hands with Hoshea, king of Israel, but was defeated by the 
Assyrians, under Sargon II., in a pitched battle at Raphia, in which 
the superiority of the Asiatic kingdom was evinced. Later (701 
B.C.) Sennacherib defeated an Egyptian army, sent for the relief 



42 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

of Ekron, and made Hezekiah a tributary. Tirhakah, the ally of 
Hezekiah, continued the struggle. His army was saved from over- 
throw by the disaster which happened to Sennacherib's host in the 
neighboring camp on the eve of battle. Twenty years later, he 
was vanquished by an invading army under the son and successor 
of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon. The rule of the Ethiopian dynasty 
was subverted. The Assyrians intrusted the government to twenty 
governors, of whom the most were natives. Of the;se governors, 
one, then king of Sais, Psammeticus I. (663-616 B.C.), in alliance 
with Gyges, king of Lydia, and with the aid of Carians, Phoenicians, 
and Lycians, cast off the Assyrian yoke, and became sole ruler of 
Egypt. This epoch is marked by the introduction of numerous 
foreigners into the country, and by the exertion of a powerful and 
lasting Greek influence. Neku II. — the Necho of Scripture — 
(610-594 B.C.), the son of Psammeticus I., defeated /(7j-zVz/z, king 
of Judah, at Megiddo (608 B.C.) ; and Josiah fell in the battle. 
But, advancing to Carchemish by the Euphrates, Neku, in turn, 
was vanquished by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, which had 
now become the formidable power. The defeat of Neku ended 
Egyptian rule in the East. Apries (588 B.C.), the Hophra of 
Scripture, was dethroned by a revolt of his own soldiers, in a war 
with the Greeks of Cyrene, and was succeeded by Aa/wies, or 
Amasis (570-526), under whose auspices foreigners, and especially 
Greeks, acquired an augmented influence. Egypt had escaped 
from permanent subjection to Assyria or Babylon; but a new 
empire, the Persian Empire of Cyrus, was advancing on the path 
to universal dominion. Cyrus was too busy with other under- 
takings to attack Egypt ; but Canibyses, his successor, led an army 
into that country ; and, having defeated Psammeticus III, at the 
battle oi Pelusium, he made it a Persian province (525 B.C.). 

_ Literature. — See the list on p. i6. i. Works on Oriental History as a whole : Dunck- 
er's History of Antiquity. It includes, also, Greece. Lenormant and Chevalier, Manual 
of the Ancient History of the East (2 vols.); G. Rawlinson, The Five Great Monarchies 
(3 vols.). The Sixth Great Monarchy (Parthia), The Seventh Great Monarchy (the 
Sassanids), The Origin of N'ations (i \o\.), Manual of Ancient History (i vol.), Egypt 
and Babylon (i vol.). Lenormant, The Begintiings of History (i vol.); P. Smith, The 
Ancient History of the East (i \o\.) , History of the IVorld {Ancient History, 3 vols.); 
Maspero, History of the Ancient Orient (3 vols.); Doublier, Gesch. des Alterihums 
(from the cultural point of view, i vol.); E. Meyer, Gesch. des Alterthums. 

2. Works on the History of Egypt. Brugsch-Bev, History of Egypt under the Pha- 
raohs (2 vols.); G. Rawlinson, History of Ancient Egypt (2 vols.); Mariette, Apergu de 
I'Histoire d'Egypte (1864), and numerous other writings ; Wilkinson, Manners and Cus- 
toms of Egypt (3 vols.); Erman, Egypt; Petrie, History of Egypt ; Erman, Egyptian 
Life (1894); Birch, Records of the Past (translations of Egyptian and Assyrian Monu- 
ments, II vols.'), Egypt from the Earliest Times ; Perrot and Chipiez, History of Art 
in Ancient Egypt (1883); Fergusson's History of Architecture ; the great illustrative 
works of the French savans under Napoleon L; the great illustrated Works of Rossellini, 
and the works of Lepsius ; the novels of Ebers, The Sisters; Uarda ; The Egyptian 
Princess. 



ASSYRIA AND BABYLON. 43 

CHAPTER II. 
ASSYRIA AND BABYLON. 

The Geography. — Assyria and Babylonia were geographically 
connected. They were inhabited by the same race, and, for the 
greater part of their history, were under one government. Baby- 
lonia comprised the lower basin of the Euphrates and Tigris, while 
Assyria included the hilly region along the upper and middle 
Tigris; the boundary being where the two rivers, in their long 
progress from their sources in the mountains of Armenia, at length 
approach one another at a place about three hundred and fifty 
miles from their outlet in the Persian Gulf. Both streams, in 
particular the Euphrates, annually flooded the adjacent territory, 
and by canals and dams were made to add to its productiveness. 
The shores of the Euphrates, after its descent from the plateau to 
the plains, were fertile beyond measure. Here the date-palm, 
whose juice as well as fruit were so highly prized, flourished. Even 
now wheat grows wild near the river's mouth. 

The Early Inhabitants. — The oldest inhabitants of this region 
of whom we have any knowledge were the Sumerians, whose terri- 
tory included both Sumer (" Shinar "), or southern Babylonia, and 
Akkad, or northern Babylonia. On the east were the Elamites, 
with Susa for their capital ; to the north of these were the warlike 
Kassites. The Sumerians, who preceded the Semites in the occu- 
pancy of Babylonia, were of an unknown stock. They were the 
founders of Babylonian culture. Even by them the soil was skill- 
fully cultivated with the help of dikes and canals. They were the 
inventors of the cuneiform writing. The cuneiform characters 
were originally pictures ; but these were resolved into wedge-shaped 
characters of uniform appearance, the significance of which was 
determined by their position and local relation to one another. 
It is not known how long the Sumerian period lasted, nor even 
when it closed ; the chronology of the earliest Semitic period is 
also very uncertain. The south-Babylonian kings Urukagina, of 
Shirpuria (Lagash), and Enshagkushana, of a district which in- 
cluded Nippur, are dated by most Assyriologists as early as 4000 
B.C., or even earlier. Whether they were Sumerians, or Semites, 
is not certain; their inscriptions do not settle the question. It 
was probably not far from this time, however, that the one race 
supplanted the other. A Semitic people — coming either directly 
from the ancestral home, Arabia, or from a previous settlement in 
Mesopotamia, north-west of Babylonia — invaded the land and 
conquered the Sumerians. They planted themselves first in north- 
ern Babylonia, and then gradually extended their power over the 
districts on the south. The conquerors adopted the civilization of 
the conquered. The earliest Semitic kings all used the Sumerian 



44 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

dialect in their inscriptions. It was only by slow degrees that the 
native language was superseded by that of the new rulers. Later, — 
before the time oi Hainmurabi ; see below, — these Semites carried 
their settlements northward, and became the founders of Assyria, 

Sources of Knowledge. — Berosus, a Babylonian priest, wrote a history of his country 
as early as 250 B.C. He was a trustworthy writer, as far as his means of knowledge went ; 
but it is only fragments of his work that we possess, and these in inaccurate quotations, paitly 
at second hand. Greek writers, as Ctesias, drew from Persian sources ; and their narratives 
up to the later times of the Persian rule can not be relied on. The great source of knowledge 
is the rapidly increasing store of records in the cuneiform character. A vast number of in- 
scriptions on stone and clay, representing nearly every department of literature, have been 
unearthed, and the material which they afford has already given us an exteiisive knowledge 
of Babylonian and Assyrian history. The site of Nineveh has been extensively excavated, 
and we iiave, therefore, especially full information as to the history and literature of Assyria. 
Babylonian monuments in considerable number have more recently come to light. Aside 
from Nineveh and Babylon, especially important excavations have been undertaken at 
Nippur, Lagash (Telloh) — thus far the chief source of Sumerian material — and Susa. 

I. THE OLD KINGDOM OF BABYLON. 

Early History. — The history of ancient Babylonia is still very 
obscure, and the chronology only tentative. We see at first a num- 
ber of independent cities, each ruled by a petty king, who was also 
a priest. Then appear groups of cities, one of which exercised 
sway over a more or less extended district. The center of power 
was now in Erech, now in Ur, or Babylon, or some other city, 
whose king ruled supreme over numerous vassal kings. Among 
the first important names known to us are those of Sargon I. 
(3800 B.C.), king of Agade, a great conqueror and builder, and 
his son, Naram-sm. Another great builder was Gudea, king of 
Shirpurla. Most conspicuous of all is Hammurabi (2250 B.C.), 
king of Babylon, who is probably the " Amraphel " of Gen. xiv. 
His kingdom included not only the whole of Babylonia proper, 
but also Assyria, and probably even the " West Land " as far as the 
Mediterranean, The records show him to have been a truly great 
ruler, both in war and in peace. He is known to us chiefly from 
a collection of his Letters to certain officials of his kingdom, and 
from his elaborate Code of civil laws, found at Susa in 1899, and 
first published in 1902 ; perhaps the most important single monu- 
ment of early civilization which has thus far come to light. The 
laws, written in the Babylonian (Semitic) language, and engraved 
on a stele of hard black stone, were about two hundred and eighty 
in number, and bear an interesting general resemblance to the old 
Hebrew laws, especially those preserved in Exodus xxi. and xxii. 

In the time of the kings Kadashman-bel and Burnaburiash 11. (about 
1400 B.C.) falls the Amarna Correspondence (see p. 40). At Tell el-Amarna, 
in upper Egypt, were unearthed, in 1887, more than three hundred clay tablets 
containing diplomatic dispatches, written in the cuneiform character, and nearly 
all in the Babylonian language. They were addressed to the Egyptian king, 
or to his ministers, and had been sent from various officials and royal person- 
ages in Babylonia, A.ssyria, Palestine (including a number of letters from 
Abdi-khiba oi Jerusalem), and other districts. They furnish a large amount 
of important information as to conditions in western Asia at that early period. 



ASSYRIA AND BABYLON. 45 

An important Kassite dynasty occupied the throne of Babylon 
from the eighteenth century to the twelfth century B.C. Under 
these Kassite rulers, the kingdom at length declined, while the 
neighboring Assyrian state had increased in power. Later still, 
apparently not earlier than the ninth century B.C., the Chaldceans 
(of Semitic stock ?) pushed north-westward into Babylonia from 
their district about the mouth of the Euphrates, and eventually 
made themselves masters of the land. 

Religion and Science. — If the events connected with old Babylon are 
less known, more is ascertained respecting its civilization. The groundwork, 
as was stated, was laid by the earlier conquered people. The religion of the 
Babylonians rested on the basis of the old Sumerian worship. There was 
homage to demons, powerful for good or for evil, who were brought together 
into groups, and were figured now as human beings, now as lions or other 
wild animals, or as dragons and that sort of monsters. Of the great gods, 
Anu, the god of the sky, was the father and king of all. Sin, the moon-god, 
a Sumerian divinity, at the outset had the highest rank. Bel, or Baal, how- 
ever, a Semitic divinity, was the god of the earth, and particularly of mankind. 
Ea was the god of the deep, and of the underworld. The early development 
of astrology and its great miluence in old Babylon were closely connected with 
the supposed association of the luminaries above with the gods. The stars 
were tliought to indicate at the birth of a child what his fortunes would be, 
and to afford the means of foretelling other remarkable events. Isktar, a god- 
dess of war and of love, was worshiped also under the name Beltis, the Greek 
Mylitta. This deity embodied the generative principle, the spring of fertility, 
whose beneficent agency was seen in the abundant harvest. She was clothed 
with sensual attributes, and propitiated with unchaste rites. It was in the 
worship of this divinity that the coarse and licentious side of the Semitic 
nature expressed itself. At the same time, there was an opposite ascetic side 
in the service of this deity. Her priests were eunuchs : they ministered at her 
altar in woman's attire. On the relation of the human soul to the gods, and 
its condition after death, there was little speculation. In general, the Baby- 
lonians were more interested in religion and worship than the Assyrians. 
The former erected temples ; the latter, palaces. 

The attainments of the earlv Babylonians in mathematics and astronomy 
were far beyond those of the Egyptians. They divided the year into twelve 
months, and arrived at the signs of the ecliptic or zodiac. The week they 
fixed at seven days by the course of the moon. They divided the day into 
twelve hours, and the hour into sixty minutes. They invented weights and 
measures, the knowledge of which went from them to the other Asiatic 
nations. Architecture, as regards taste, was in a rude state. In pottery, 
they showed much skill and ingenuity, and invented the potter's wheel. In 
the engraving of gems, and in the manufacture of delicate fabrics, — linen, 
muslin, and silk, — they were expert. Trade and commerce, favored by the 
position of Babylon, began to flourish. As regards literature, the libraries of 
Nineveh and Babylon, at a later day, contained many books translated from 
the early Sumerian language. Among them are the " Gilgamesh legends," in 
which is contained a story of the flood that resembles in essential features the 
account in Genesis. 

II. THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 

Growth of its Power. — Assyria was even greater, as a con- 
quering power, than Babylon. In the legends current among the 
Greeks, the building-up of the monarchy, and of Nineveh its 



46 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

capital, as well as of Babylon, is referred to the legendary heroes, 
Ninus and his queen Semiramis. The name of Ninus is not 
recorded on the monuments, and is, perhaps, a kind of mythical 
personification of Assyrian conquests and grandeur ; and the name 
of Semiramis does not appear until the ninth century B.C. ' She 
may have been a princess or even queen. Assyrian independence 
began before 2300 B.C. Between 1500 and 1400 B.C., Assyria 
was a weak state. It gained a brief mastery over Babylon through 
a conquest by Tukulti-Ninib (1300 B.C.). Tiglath-Pileser I. 
(iioo B.C.) spread his conquests to the Mediterranean and the 
Caspian on the west, and south to the Persian Gulf. But these 
early acquisitions of Assyria were transient. There ensued a long 
interval, until the middle of the tenth century, when the monarchy 
was mostly confined within its own proper borders. A new series 
of strong and aggressive princes arose. The conflicts of Damascus 
and of the nations of Palestine with one another left room for the 
growth of the Assyrian might and for the spread of Assyrian domin- 
ion. Asshiir-nasir-pal (formerly called Sarda?iapalus I.) levied 
tribute upon Tyre, and the other rich cities of the Syrian coast, 
and founded the Assyrian rule in Cilicia. About the middle of the 
eighth century, the kingdom of Israel, having renounced its vas- 
salage to Assyria, in league with Rezin of Damascus, the ruler of 
Syria, made war upon the kingdom of Judah. Ahaz, the Judaean 
king, against the protest of the prophet Isaiah, invoked the aid of 
the Assyrian monarch, Tiglath-Pileser II. The call was answered. 
The league was overthrown by him in a great battle fought near 
the Euphrates, and numerous captives, according to the Assyrian 
practice, were carried away from Samaria and Damascus. We are 
told that Ahaz, seeing the offerings made by Tiglath-Pileser at 
Damascus, commanded his priests at Jerusalem, despite the remon- 
strance of Isaiah, to make offerings to the Assyrian gods. Judah, 
as the result of these events, became tributary to Assyria. All 
Syria, together with Babylonia, which was then made up of several 
states, western Iran, and Armenia, were subdued by this Assyrian 
conqueror. He formally assumed the title of " King of Babylon." 
Shalmaneser IV. (727-722 B.C.), bent on completing the subju- 
gation of Syria, subdued anew the revolted cities, and conquered, 
as it would seem, the island of Cyprus. Tyre alone, that is, the 
insular city of that name, withstood a siege of five years. Hoshea, 
the king of Israel (733-722 B.C.), in order to throw off the Assyrian 
yoke, sent an embassy to Shabak, the king of Egypt, to procure 
his assistance. Hearing of this, Shalmaneser attacked Israel. 
After a siege of three years, Samaria, the capital, fell into the 
hands of Sargon, who had succeeded him, the kingdom of Israel 
was subverted, and a great part of the people dragged off into 
captivity. In 720 B.C., Sargon encountered Shabak, in the great 



ASSYRIA AND BABYLON. 47 

battle of Raphia, in southern Palestine, whom he defeated, and 
put to flight. He received tribute from Egypt, conquered a part 
of Arabia, and received the homage of the king of Me roe, who 
made a journey from Ethiopia to bow before him. The reign of 
Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) was an eventful one, both for Assyria 
and for the neighboring countries. Hezekiah, king of Judah, hoped 
with the aid of Egypt to achieve his independence. Sennacherib 
was obliged to raise the siege of Jerusalem, after Hezekiah had 
vainly sought to propitiate him with large offerings of silver and 
gold ; but the Assyrian was prevented from engaging in battle 
with Tirhaka of Egypt by a great calamity that befell his army. 
Against Babylon, which frequently revolted, he was more success- 
ful. " Berodach-baladan," as he is called in Scripture (2 Kings, 
chap. 20), who at an earlier day had sent an embassy from Baby- 
lon to Hezekiah, was overcome, and a new ruler enthroned in 
his place. Esarhaddon (681-668 B.C.) not only restored the 
Assyrian sway over Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Judah, and a part of 
Arabia, countries that lost no opportunity to shake off the cruel and 
hateful rule of Nineveh, but also conquered Egypt, and parceled 
it out among twenty governors. By Esarhaddon, or by his suc- 
cessor, Manasseh, king of Judah, was conquered, and carried off 
as a captive, but afterwards restored to his throne. Assyria was 
now at the summit of its power. Asshur-bani-pal V. (668-626 
B.C.), called Sardanapalus, although he lost Egypt, confirmed the 
Assyrian power in the other subject states, and received tribute 
from Lydia, ,on the western border of Asia Minor. Under him, 
Assyrian art made its farthest advance. He was the builder of 
magnificent palaces. It is his library, dug up from the grave in 
which it had been buried for two and a half decades of centuries, 
that has yielded a vast amount of welcome information concern- 
ing Assyrian and Babylonian history far back into the Sumerian 
period. 

Religion and Art. — It has been stated that the Assyrian culture 
was transplanted from Babylon. The religion was substantially the same, 
except that Asshicr, the tutelary deity of the country, was made supreme. 
The Assyrians from the start were devoted to war, pillage, and conquest. 
Their unsparing cruelty and brutal treatment of their enemies are abundantly 
witnessed by their own monuments. They lacked the productive power in 
literature and art which belonged to the Babylonians. Although they might 
have built their edifices of stone, they generally made use of brick. Their 
sculptures in relief were much better than the full figures. They laid color 
upon their works in sculpture. But their art was merely a pictorial record of 
events. The sense of beauty and creative power were wanting. The more 
religious character of the Babylonians created a difference in the architec- 
ture of the two peoples. In gem-cutting both were singularly expert. The 
Assyrians gave less attention to the burial of the dead. They showed an 
aptitude for trade ; and Nineveh, in the eighth and seventh centuries, was a 
busy mart. 



48 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

The Fall of Assyria. — The first important blow at the Assyrian 
imperial rule was struck by the Medes. After nearly a century of 
resistance, they had been subdued (710 B.C.), and were subject 
to Assyria for a century after. In 640 B.C., they rose in revolt, 
under Phraortes, one of their native chiefs, who fell in battle. 
The struggle was continued by his son, Cyaxares. His plans were 
interrupted, however, by 

The Irruption of the Scythians (623 B.C.). — More than a 
century before, these wandering Asiatic tribes had begun to make 
predatory incursions into Asia Minor. When Cyaxa7'es was before 
Nineveh, they came down in greater force, and a horde of them, 
moving southward from the river Halys, invaded Syria. Jerusa- 
lem and the stronger cities held out against them, but the open 
country was devastated. They were met by Psajnineticiis I., king 
of Egypt, and bribed to turn back. They entered Babylonia ; but 
Nabopolassar, the viceroy of Asshur-bani-pal (Sardanapalus), suc- 
cessfully defended the city of Babylon against their attacks. By 
Cyaxares, either these or another horde were defeated ; but it was 
not until 605 B.C. that the region south of the Black Sea was 
cleared of them. The kingdom of Lydia had now come to play 
an important part in the affairs of western Asia. 

Our first knowledge of the peoples of Asia Minor is from the Homeric poems (about 
goo B.C.)- The Chalybeans were in Pontus; west of them, the Amazonians and Paphla- 
gom'aiis; west of these, the Mys2an<:/ on the Hellespont, small tribes related to the Trojajis; 
on the iEgean, the Dardanians and the Trojans (on the north), the Cariayis and the Lycians 
(on the south); on the north-east of these last, the Phrygians. 

A large portion of the early inhabitants of Asia Minor were Semitic, and closely related 
to the Syrians. Semitic divinities were worshiped; a goddess, 3fy/iiia, under other names, 
was adored in Pontus, at Ephesus, in Phrygia, and in Lydia. 

The Lydians were of the Semitic race. Cyhele, the female divinity wliom 
they served, was the same deity whose altars were at Babylon, Nineveh, 
and Tyre. The rulers of the dynasty of the Rlermnada, Gyges and his 
successors, spread the Lydian dominion until it extended to the Hellespont, 
and included Mysia and Phrygia. Alyattes was able to extirpate the Cim- 
merian hordes from the Sea of Azoff, who had overrun the western part of 
Asia Minor, and to make the Halj's his eastern boundary. Gyges had been 
slain in the contest with those fierce barbarians, called in the Old Testament 
Gomer. At first he had sought help from the Assyrians, but he broke away 
from this dependence. 

Liberated from the troubles of the Scythian irruption, Cyaxares 
formed an alliance with Nabopolassar, the viceroy in Babylon, who 
had revolted, and gained his independence. The Median ruler 
had subdued Armenia, and established his control as far as the 
Halys, making a treaty with Lydia. Now ensued the desperate 
conflict on which hung the fate of the Assyrian Empire. Nineveh 
was taken (606 B.C.) by the Medes under Cyaxai-es, and the 
Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar. The 
Grecian story of Sardanapalus burning himself on a lofty bier, is 



ASSYRIA AND BABYLON. 49 

a myth. Assyria was divided by tiie Tigris between tlie Mcdes and 
Babylonians. 

The Three Powers: Egypt. — On the fall of Nineveh, there 
were three principal powers left on the stage of action, which were 
bound together by treaty, Lydia, Media, and Babylon. Egypt 
proved itself unable to cope with Babylonian power. Necho, 
during the siege of Nineveh, had attacked Syria, and defeated the 
Jews on the plain of Esdraelon, where Wn^Josiah was slain. He 
dethroned Jelwahaz, Josiah's son, and enthroned Jehoiakim in his 
stead. But when, in 605 B.C., he confronted Nebuchadnezzar at 
Carchemish, and was defeated, he was compelled to give up Syria, 
and to retire within the boundaries of Egypt. 

III. THE NEW BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. 

Triumphs of Nebuchadnezzar. — Syria was now at the mercy 
of Nebuchadnezzar. He captured Jerusalem (597 B.C.), de- 
spoiled the temple and palace, and led away Jehoiakim as a 
captive. He placed on the throne of Judah Jehoiakim's uncle, 
Zedekiah. But this king, having arranged an alliance between 
Egypt and the Phcenician cities, revolted (590 B.C.), refusing to 
pay his tribute. Again Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, 
but raised the siege, in order to drive home Apries II. (Hophra), 
the Egyptian ally of Zedekiah. The city v/as taken, the king's 
sons were killed in his presence, his own eyes were put out ; and, 
after the temple and palace had been burned and the city sacked, 
he, with all the families of the upper class who had not escaped 
to the desert, was carried away to Babylon (586 B.C.). Tyre 
(the old city) in like manner was taken by assault (585 B.C.). 

By Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon was enlarged, and adorned on a 
scale of unequaled splendor. The new palace, with its " hanging 
gardens," the bridge over the Euphrates, the Median wall connect- 
ing the Euphrates and the Tigris on his northern boundary, and 
magnificent waterworks, are famous structures which belong to 
this reign. Wealth and luxury abounded. But vigor of adminis- 
tration fell away under his successors; and Babylon, after a domin- 
ion short when compared with the long sway of Nineveh, was 
conquered by Cyrus, the Medo-Persian king, in 538 B.C. The 
last king was Nabonetus. 

The City of Babylon. — Baliylon was a city of the highest antiquity. 
The name {Bab-ili, "Gate of God") is Semitic. The city is mentioned in 
the earliest cuneiform records, and from the time of Hammurabi was the 
chief city of the land. Destroyed by Sennacherib (690 B.C.), it was rebuilt 
by Esarhaddon, but iiot fully restored and adorned until the reigns of Nabo- 
polassar and Nebuchadnezzar. 

Babylon surpassed all ancient cities in size and magnificence. Its 
walls were forty miles in circumference. This extent of wall probably 



50 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

included Borsippa, or "Babylon the Second," on the right bank of the 
river. Bab3'lon proper was mainly on the left. Within the walls were 
inclosed gardens, orchards, and fields : the space was only filled in part 
by buildings ; but the whole area was laid out with straight streets inter- 
secting one another at right angles, like the streets of Philadelphia. The 
wall was pierced by a hundred gates, probably twenty-five in each face. 
The Euphrates, lined with quays on both sides, and spanned with draw- 
bridges, ran through the town, dividing it into two nearly equal parts. The 
city was protected without by a deep and wide moat. The wall was at 
least seventy or eighty feet in height, and of vast and unusual thickness. 
On the summit were two hundred and fifty towers, placed along the 
outer and inner edges, opposite to one another, but so far apart, according 
to Herodotus, that there was room for a four-horse chariot to pass between. 
The temple oi Bel was in a square inclosure, about a quarter of a mile both in 
length and breadth. The tower of the temple was ascended on the outside 
by an inclined plane carried around the four sides. An exaggerated statement 
of Sirabo makes its height six hundred and six feet. Possibly, this represents 
the length of the inclined plane. In the shrine on the top were a golden 
table and a couch; according to Diodorus^ before the Persian conquest there 
were colossal golden images of three divinities, with two golden lions, and two 
enormous serpents of silver. It is thought that Herodotus may have described 
the splendid temple oi Nebo (now Birs Nimrud^, and have mistaken it, by 
reason of its enormous ruins, for the temple of Bel, which it rivaled in mag- 
nificence. The great palace is represented to have been larger than the temple 
of Bel, the outermost of its three inclosing walls being three miles in circum- 
ference. Its exterior was of baked brick. The " Hanging Gardens " was a 
structure built on a square, consisting of stages or stories, one above another, 
each supported by arches, and covered on the top, at the height of at least 
seventy-five feet, with a great mass of earth in which grew flowers and shrubs, 
and even large trees. The ascent to the top was by steps. On the way up 
were stately and elegant apartments. The smaller palace was on the other 
side of the river. 

Literature. — Works on Oriental History mentioned on p. 42. Tiele, Babylonisch-assy- 
rische Geschichte (1888); Kaulen, Assyrzen tmd Babylotiien (sth ed., 1899); Rogers, 
History of Babylonia and Assyria (1901); Goodspeed, History 0/ the Babyloniajis and 
Assyrians (1902); King, Articles Assyria and Babylonia in the Encyclo/xedia Biblica ; 
Sayce, Babylonians and Assyrians: Life and Customs (1899) ; Schrader, The Ciitiei/orm 
Inscriptions and the Old Testametit; Jastrovv, Religion 0/ Babylonia and Assyria (iSgS) ; 
Perrot & Chipiez, Histoire de I'art dans V antiquite , vol. ii., Chaldee et Assyrie. 



THE PHCENICIANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. $1 

CHAPTER III. 
THE PHCENICIANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 

Phoenicia. — A narrow strip of territory separates the mountains 
of Syria and Palestine from the Mediterranean. Of this belt the 
northern part, west of Lebanon, about one hundred and fifty miles 
long, varies in widtli from five to fourteen miles. In some places 
the cliffs approach close to the sea. This belt of land was occu- 
pied by the first of the great maritime and commercial peoples of 
antiquity, the Phoenicians. Their language was Semitic, closely 
akin to Hebrew. 

Commerce and Prosperity of the Phoenicians. — The most im- 
portant of the Phoenician cities were Sidon — which was the first 
of them to rise to distinction and power — and Tyre, which be- 
came more famous as a mart, and comprised, besides the town 
on the coast. New Tyre, the city built on the neighboring rocky 
island. In New Tyre was the sanctuary of the tutelary god, Mel- 
kart. The spirit of trade stimulated ingenuity. The Phoenicians 
were noted for their glass, their purple dyes, their improved alpha- 
bet, and knowledge of the art of writing. In mining and in casting 
metals, in the manufacture of cloth, in architecture, and in other 
arts, they were not less proficient. From their situation they natu- 
rally became a seafaring race. Not only did they transport their 
cargoes of merchandise to the islands and shores of the Mediterra- 
nean, conveying thither not merely the fruits of their own industry 
and skill, but also the productions of the East : they ventured to 
steer their vessels beyond the Strait of Gibraltar ; and, if they did 
not procure amber directly from the North Sea, they brought tin 
either directly from Cornwall or from the Scilly Islands. Through 
the hands of Phoenician merchants " passed the gold and pearls 
of the East, the purple of Tyre, slaves, ivory, lions' and panthers' 
skins from the interior of Africa, frankincense from Arabia, the 
linen of Egypt, the pottery and fine wares of Greece, the copper 
of Cyprus, the silver of Spain, tin from England, and iron from 
Elba." These products were carried wherever a market could 
be found for them. At the instigation of Necho, king of Egypt 
(610-594. B.C.), they are said to have made a three years' voyage 
round the southern cape of Africa. 

Colonies: Opulence. — The Phoenicians were the first great col- 
onizing nation of antiquity. It was the fashion of Assyrians and 
other conquerors to transport to their own lands multitudes of peo- 
ple, whom they carried away as captives from their homes. The 
Phoenicians — in this particular the forerunners of the Greeks and of 
the Dutch and the English — planted trading settlements in Cyprus 
and Crete, on tlie islands of the yEgean Sea, in southern Spain, and 



52 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

in North Africa. Cadiz, one of the oldest towns in Europe, was 
founded by these enterprising traders (about i loo B.C.) . Tarshish 
was another of their Spanish settlements. '' Ships of Tarshish," 
like the modern " East Indiamen," came to signify vessels capable 
of making long voyages. The coast of modern Andalusia and 
Granada belonged to the Phoenicians. Through caravans their 
intercourse was not less lively with the states on the Euphrates, 
with Nineveh and Babylon, as well as with Egypt. Tyre was a link 
between the East and the West. 

Hiram : Settlement of Carthage. — The Tyrian power attained 
to its height under King Hiram I., the contemporary and ally of 
Solomon. Two Greek historians make his reign to extend from 
969 to 936 B.C. The alliance with Solomon extended the traffic 
of Tyre, and increased its wealth. Hiram connected old and 
New Tyre by a bridge. The Tyrians adorned their city with 
stately palaces and temples, and built strong fortifications. En- 
grossed in manufactures and commerce, and dehghting in the 
affluence thus engendered, the Phoenicians were not ambitious of 
conquest. Although conquerors upon the sea, they were not a 
martial people : like commercial states generally, they preferred 
peace. Of the people of Laish (Dan), it is said in the Book of 
Judges (xviii. 7), "They dwelt careless, after the manner of the 
Zidonians, quiet and secure." This pacific temper was coupled 
with a fervent attachment to their own land and to their country- 
men wherever they went. But they lacked the political instinct. 
They did not appreciate liberty, and their love of traffic and of 
gain often made them prefer to pay tribute rather than to fight. 
Their colonies were factories, but were not centers of further con- 
quest, or germs of poUtical communities. When the family of 
Hiram, was exterminated (about 850 B.C.) by the high-priest of 
the goddess Astarte, who seized on power, civil strife and disorder 
ensued. Pygmalion, the great-grandson of the high-priest, as it 
is related by a Grecian authority, slew his uncle, who was to marry 
Pygmalion's sister, Elissa. On account of this internal conflict, 
and from dread of the Assyrian power, a large number of the 
old famihes emigrated to North Africa, and founded Cartilage 
(about 814 B.C.). 

The Phoenician cities were confederated together under hereditary kings, 
whose power was limited by the lay and priestly aristocracy. The common 
people, many of whom were skilled artisans, made themselves felt in some 
degree in public affairs. The mercantile class were influential. Thus there 
was developed a germinant municipal feeling and organization. The " strong 
city," Tyre, is mentioned in Joslnia xix. 29. In Isaiah xxiii., Tyre is de- 
scribed as " the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers 
are the honourable of the earth." "He stretched out his hand over the sea, 
he shook the kingdoms." The fate of Babylon is pointed at by the Prophet, 
to show what Tyre had to expect from Assyria. Later, before the conquest 
by Nebuchadnezzar, Ezekiel thus speaks of Tyre (chap, xxvii.) : "They have 



THE PHCENICIANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. 53 

taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee." " Of the oaks of Bashan 
have they made thine oars." " Tarshish was thy merchant." 

Religion and Letters. — A very prominent feature of the religion of the 
Phrenicians is the local character of their divinities. The word baal (" lord " 
or "god ") was not used in Phoenicia as the proper name of any one god. But 
such names as Baal-sidon, " Lord of Sidon," Baal-libaiioii, " God of Lebanon," 
etc., are common. Astarte was the most common name for the local female 
divinities. The gods were often thought of as dwelling in stones, trees, and 
other objects; the worship of stone-pillars and sacred poles {ashera ; trans- 
lated " grove " in the English Bible) was especially common in Phoenicia. 
On the other hand, a " god of heaven " and a " goddess of heaven " were 
worshiped. In the religion of the Phoenicians, the more elevated ingredients 
of the Semitic heathenism are in the background. The sensual features of it 
are more prominent, and savage elements are introduced. It was more adapted 
to foster than to check lust and cruelty. To Astarte, maidens sacrifice their 
chastity. There was the same double ritual, made up of gross sensuality on 
the one hand, and of ascetic practices by the priesthood on the other, that 
belonged to the service of Mylitta at Babylon. Human sacrifice by fire was 
another horrible feature. Children, especially, were offered to El ("god"; 
possibly also called Meiek (Moloch), "the king," as among the Hebrews). 
To appease him at Tyre and Carthage, girls and boys, sometimes in large num- 
bers, and of the highest families, were cast into the flames; while the wailing 
of their relatives, if it was not stifled by themselves at the supposed demand 
of piety, was drowned by the sound of musical instruments. As late as 310 B.C., 
when Agathocles was besieging Carthage, and had reduced the city to the 
direst straits, we are told that the people laid two hundred boys of their 
noblest families upon the arms of the brazen image of the god, whence they 
were allowed to fall into the fire beneath. On similar occasions, even the head 
of the state sometimes offered himself as a sacrifice. Ha77iilcar, the Cartha- 
ginian, son of Hanno, in Sicily, when the tide of battle was turning against 
him, threw himself into the fire (480 B.C.). Juba, king of Numidia, prepared 
to do the same after the battle of Thapsus. Large and costly temples were 
built, generally in the Egyptian style. Such were the temples of Melkart at 
Tyre and Cadiz, of Eslimicn at Sidon, and of " the Lady of Byblos " at that city. 
Nature — as dying in the autumn, and again reviving in the spring — is figured 
as the god Adonis^ who is honored first by a protracted season of mourning, 
and then by a joyous festival. 

The Phoenicians were not a literary people. Their alphabet (invented by 
them?) was the old Semitic alphabet. Every character represented a sound. 
From the Phoenicians it spread, and became the mother of most of the graphic 
systems now existing. Cadmus, however, by whom it was said to be carried 
to the Greeks, is a fabulous person. The alleged history of Sanchuniathon, 
which was published in Greek by Pliilo of Byblus, in the second century A.D., 
is now generally believed to be the work of Philo himself. 

Historical Events. — In the struggles against the JN'Iesopota- 
mian empires, the Phoenicians defended themselves with valor and 
perseverance. When 6'rt;r^^/; (722-705 B.C.) had subjugated their 
cities on the mainland, insular Tyre for five years repelled his 
assaults, although the conduits bringing fresh water from the shore 
were cut off, and the besieged were obliged to content themselves 
with the scanty supply to be gained from wells dug with great 
labor. Soon the Tyrian fleets regained their mastery on the sea. 
When Nebuchadnezzar captured old Tyre, and a multitude of its 
inhabitants shared the lot of the Jews, and were dragged off by 



54 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

the conqueror to the Euphrates, the island city withstood his 
attack for thirteen years, and did not yield until it extorted from 
him a treaty. But the power of resistance was weakened by the 
repeated invasions and domination of Nineveh and Babylon. 
Tyre submitted to Persia after the downfall of the Babylonian 
monarchy, and added her fleet to the Persian forces ; although 
to the Phoenician towns was left a degree of freedom and their 
local government. Sidon, Tyre, and Arados had a council of their 
own, which met with their respective kings and senators at Tripolis, 
for the regulation of matters of common interest. Manufactures 
and commerce continued to flourish. Under the Persian supremacy, 
Sidon once more became the chief city. In the middle of the 
fourth century B.C., it revolted against the tyranny of the foreign 
governors. The Persian king, Ochiis, ordered that the noblest citi- 
zens should be put to death ; whereupon the inhabitants set the 
city on fire, and destroyed themselves and their treasures in the 
flames. Tyre remained, but ventured to resist Alexander the Great, 
after his conquest of the Persians, and by him was captured and 
partly demolished (332 B.C.). After the death of Alexander, the 
Phoenicians fell under the sway of the Seleucidcs at Antioch, and, 
for a time, of the Egyptian Ptolemies. Both Tyre and Sidon were 
rebuilt, and flourished anew. It is probably to the third century 
B.C. that we should assign the native Sidonian dynasty which in- 
cluded the Kings Eshnmnazar I., Sedek-yaton, Tabnit, Bodashtart, 
and Eshnmnazar II., whose names are known to us from inscrip- 
tions. In the time of the last-named king, the cities Dor and 
Joppa, with the plain of Sharon, belonged to Sidon. 

Carthaginian History. — The most prominent of aU the Phoe- 
nician settlements was Carthage. It had remarkable advantages 
of situation. Its harbor was sufficient for the anchorage of the 
largest vessels, and it had a fertile territory around it. These 
circumstances, in conjunction with the energy of its inhabitants, 
placed it at the head of the Phoenician colonies. In Carthage, 
there was no middle class. There were the rich landholders and 
merchants, and the common people. The government was practi- 
cally an oligarchy. There were two kings or judges {Shofetes), 
with little power, and a council or senate ; possibly a second coun- 
cil also. But the senate and magistrates were subordinate to an 
aristocratic body, the htnidred Judges. The bulk of the citizens 
had little more than a nominal influence in public affairs. 

Ascendency of Carthage. — When the Greeks (about 600 B.C.) 
spread their colonies, the rivals of the Phoenician settlements, in 
the west of the Mediterranean, Carthage was moved to deviate 
from the policy of the parent cities, and to make herself the 
champion, protector, and mistress of the Phoenician dependen- 
cies in all that region. Thus she became the head of a North- 



THE HEBREWS. 55 

African empire, which asserted its supremacy against its Greek 
adversaries in Sicily and Spain, as well as in Lybia. When Tyre 
was subjugated by Persia, Carthage was strengthened by the 
immigration of many of the best Tyrian families. As the Tyrian 
strength waned, the Carthaginian power increased. Syracuse, in 
Sicily, became the first Greek naval power, and the foremost antag- 
onist of the Carthaginian dominion. In 480 B.C., Carthage made 
war upon the Greek cities in Sicily. The contest was renewed 
from time to time. In the conflicts between 439-409 B.C., she 
confirmed her sway over the western half of the island. In later 
conflicts (317-275 B.C.), in which Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, 
was a noted leader of the Greeks, and, after his death, Pyrrhus, 
king of Epirus, was their ally, Carthage alternately lost and re- 
gained her Sicilian cities. But the result of the war was to estab- 
lish her maritime ascendency. 

Literature — Works mentioned on pp. 16, 42: Pietschmann, Geschichte der Pkoni- 
zier {i%&<4)\ K?L\w\\nso\\, History 0/ P/icetucia (1S89); E.Meyer, Art. Phoenicia in the 
Ejicycl. Bibl. ; Perrot & Chipiez, History of Art in Phcenicia and Cyprus, 2 vols.; 
Renan, Mission de Phenicie (1874); Meltzer, Geschichte der Karthager ; F. W.New- 
man's Defense oj Carthage. 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE HEBREWS. 



Peculiarity of the Hebrews. — While the rest of the nations 

worshiped " gods many and lords many," whom they confounded 
with the motions of the heavenly bodies, or with other aspects of 
nature, there was one people which attained to a faith in one God, 
the Creator and Preserver of the universe, who is exalted above 
nature, and whom it was deemed impious to represent by any ma- 
terial image. More than is true of any other people, religion was 
consciously the one end and aim of their being. To bring the true 
religion to its perfection, and to give it a world-wide difiusion and 
sway, was felt by them to be their heaven-appointed mission. The 
peculiarity of their faith made them stand alone, and rendered 
them exclusive, and intolerant of the surrounding idolatries. The 
mountainous character of their land, separated by Lebanon from 
Phcenicia, and by the desert from the nations on the East and 
South, was well adapted to the work which they had to fulfill in the 
course of history. 

The Patriarchal Age. — The Israelites traced their descent from 
Abraham, who, to escape the infection of idolatry, left his home, 
which was in Ur on the lower Euphrates, and came into the land 
of Canaan, where he led a wandering life, but became the father 
of a group of nations. According to the popular narrative, Isaac, 
his son by Sarah, was recognized as the next chief of the tamily ; 



$6 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

while Ishmacl, Abraham's son by Hagar, became the progenitor of 
the Arabians. Of the two sons of Isaac, Esau, who was a hunts- 
man, married a daughter of the native people : from him sprung 
the Edomites. Jacob kept up the occupation of a herdsman. Of 
his twelve sons, Joseph was an object of jealousy to the other 
eleven, by whom he was sold to a caravan of merchants on their 
way to Egypt. There, through his skill in interpreting dreams, he 
rose to high dignities and honors in the court of Pharaoh ; and, 
by his agency, the entire family were allowed to settle on the pas- 
ture-lands of Gosheti in northern Egypt (p. 40). Here in the 
neighborhood of Heliopolis, for several centuries, they fed their 
flocks. From Israel, the name given to Jacob, they were com- 
monly called Israelites. The name Hebrews was apparently derived 
from a word signifying "across the river" (Euphrates) ; but the 
original application is quite uncertain. 

The Exodus (see p. 41). — The time came when the Israel- 
ites were no longer well treated. A new Egyptian dynasty was 
on the throne. Their numbers were an occasion of apprehen- 
sion. An Egyptian princess saved Moses from being a victim of 
a barbarous edict issued against them. He grew to manhood in 
Pharaoh's court, but became the champion of his people. Com- 
pelled to flee, he received in the lonely region of Afount Sinai 
that sublime disclosure of the only living God which qualified him 
to be the leader and deliverer of his brethren. A "strong east 
wind," parting the Red Sea, opened a passage for the Israelites, 
whom a succession of calamities, inflicted upon their oppressors by 
the Almighty, had driven Pharaoh ( Menephthah ? ) to permit to de- 
part in a body ; but the returning waves ingulfed the pursuing 
Egyptian army. " The sea covered them : they sank as lead in 
the mighty waters." For a long period Moses led the people 
about in the wilderness. They were trained by this experience to 
habits of order and military discipline. At Noreb, the Decalogue, 
the kernel, so to speak, of the Hebrew codes, the foundation of the 
religious and social life of the people, was given them under circum- 
stances fitted to awaken the deepest awe. They placed themselves 
under Jehovah as the Ruler and Protector of the nation in a 
special sense. The worship of other divinities, every form of idola- 
try, was to be a treasonable offense. The laws of Jehovah were 
to be kept in the Ark of the Covenant, in the "Tabernacle," which 
was the sanctuary, and was transported from place to place. The 
priesthood was devolved on Aaron and his successors, at the side 
of whom were their assistants, the Levites. The civil authority in 
each tribe was placed in the hands of the patriarchal chief and 
the "elders," the right of approval or of veto being left to the 
whole tribe gathered in an assembly. The heads of the tribes, 
with seventy representative elders, together with Aaron and Moses, 



1 



^^ 



THE HEBREWS. 57 

formed a supreme council or standing committee. On particular 
occasions a congregation of all the tribes might be summoned. 
The ritual was made up of sacrifices and solemn festivals. The 
Sabbath was the great weekly conimemoration, a day of rest for 
the slave as well as for the master, for the toiling beast as well 
as for man. Every seventh year and every fiftieth year were sab- 
baths, when great inecjualities of condition, which might spring up 
in the intervals, respecting the possession of land, servitude con- 
sequent on debts, etc., were removed. 

Hebrew Laws. — The Israelites, in virtue of their covenant with Jehovah, were to be a 
holy people, a nation of priests. They were thus to maintain fraternal equality. There was to 
be no enslaving of one another, save that which was voluntary and for a limited time. Only 
prisoners not of their race, or purchased foreigners, could be held as slaves. Every fiftieth 
year, land was to revert to its original possessor. In the sabbatical years the land was not to 
be tilled. What then grew wild might be gathered by all There were careful provisions for 
the benefit of the poor. 

Heads of Tribes. — The progenitors of the tribes, the sons of Jacob, 
as given in Exodus, were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, 
Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin 

The Hebrew Religion. — Such, in brief, were the beginnings of 
a religion as unique as it was elevated in its character, — a religion 
which stood from the outset in mortal antagonism to the Egyptian 
worship of sun-gods, and to the star-worship, the service of Baal, 
and of sensual or savage divinities joined with him, — to that ser- 
vice which was diffused through the Semitic nations of western 
Asia. A people was constituted to be the guardian of this light, 
kindled in the midst of the surrounding darkness, to carry it down 
to later ages, and to make it finally, in its perfected form, the heri- 
tage of mankind. 

The Prophets. — Moses was not only a military leader and a 
legislator : he stands at the head of the prophets, the class of men 
who at different times, especially in seasons of national peril and 
temptation, along the whole course of Israelitish history, were 
raised up to declare the will of Jehovah, to utter the lessons proper 
to the hour, to warn evil-doers, and to comfort the desponding. 

Conquest of Canaan : The Era of the Judges. — Moses himself 
did not enter " the promised land," where the patriarchs were 
buried, and which the Israelites were to conquer. According to 
Deut. vii. 2, a war of extermination was commanded. The reason 
given for the command was that the people must avoid the conta- 
gion of idolatry, that it was the fit reward of the nation which 
they were bidden to dispossess. 

The word " Catiaanite '' was used especially to desi.grate the inhabitants of the coast re- 
gion of Palestine. It was applied, however, to all the tribes, who were under thirty-one kings 
or chiefs, in the time of Joshua There were six principal tribes, — the Hittites, Hivites, 
Ainorites, ycbusites, Pcrizziies, and Girgasliitcs. These, with the exception of the Hittites, 
and possibly the Amorites, were Semitic in their language. The Canaanites had houses and 
vineyards. From them the Israelites learned agricullurc. " They were in possession of foiti- 
fied towns, treasures of brass, iron, gold, and foreign merchandise " Their religious rites were 
brutal and debasing, — " human sacrifice, licentious orgies, the worship of a host of divinities." 



58 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

On the death of Moses, Joshua succeeded to the post of a 
leader. He defeated the Amorites and other tribes on the east 
of the Jordan. After the first victories of Joshua, each tribe car- 
ried on for itself the struggle with Canaanites, victory over them 
being often followed by indiscriminate slaughter. It is plain, 
however, especially from the account in the first chapter of the Book 
of Judges, that there was a process of assimilation as well as one of 
conquest. The actual settlement was effected by peaceful as well 
as by warUke methods. Resistance was stubborn, and the prog- 
ress of occupation slow. It was not until David's time, centuries 
after the invasion, \k12A Jebus, the site of Jerusalem, was captured. 
This delay was due largely to a lack of union, not to a lack of 
valor. The strength of the Israelites was in their infantry. Hence 
they preferred to fight upon the hills, rather than to cope with 
horsemen and chariots on the plains below. 

The Period of the Judges. — The era of the Judges extends 
from about 1300 B.C. over at least two centuries. Powerful tribes 
— as Moabites, Midianites, Ammonites, Philistines — were unsub- 
dued. The land was desolated by constant war. It was one sure 
sign of the prevailing disorder and anarchy, that " the highways 
were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways " 
(Judg. v. 6). Not unfrequently the people forgot Jehovah, and 
fell into idolatrous practices. In this period of degeneracy and 
confusion, men full of sacred enthusiasm and of heroic courage 
arose to smite the enemies of Israel, and to restore the observance 
of the law. Of these heroic leaders, Deborah, Gideon, Jepththa, 
and Samson were the most famous. There remains the song of 
Deborah on the defeat and death of Sisera (Judg. v.). 

The Philistines, on the western coast, captured the sacred ark, — 
an" act that spread dismay among the Israelites. Then they pushed 
on their conquests as far as the Jordan, took away from the Israel- 
ites their weapons, and grievously oppressed them. The Ammon- 
ites threatened the tribes on the east of the Jordan with a like fate. 
At this juncture, an effective leader and reformer appeared, in the 
person of Samuel, who had been consecrated from his youth up 
to the service of the sanctuary, and whose devotion to the law 
was mingled with an ardent patriotism. He roused the courage of 
the people, and recalled them to the service of Jehovah. In the 
" schools of the prophets " he taught the young the law, trained 
them in music and song, and thus prepared a class of inspiring 
teachers and guides to co-operate with the priesthood in uphold- 
ing the cause of religion. 

The Monarchy : Samuel and Saul. — In the distracted condi- 
tion of the country, the people demanded a king, to unite them, 
and lead them to victory, and to administer justice. They felt 
that their lack of compact organization and defined leadership 



THE HEBREWS. 59 

placed them at a disadvantage in comparison with the tribes about. 
This demand Samuel resisted, as springing out of a distrust of 
Jehovah, and as involving a rejection of Him. He depicted the 
burdens which regal government would bring upon them. Later 
history verified his prediction. A strong, centralized authority- 
was not in harmony with the family and tribal government which 
was the peculiarity of their system. It brought in, by the side of 
the prophetic order, another authority less sacred in its claims to 
respect. Collisions between the two must inevitably result. But, 
whatever might be the ideal political system, the exigency was 
such that Samuel yielded to the persistent call of the people. He 
himself chose and anointed for the office a tall, brave, and experi- 
enced soldier, Saul. Successful in combat, the king soon fell into a 
conflict with the prophet, by failing to comply with the divine law, 
and by sparing, contrary to the injunction laid upon him, prison- 
ers and cattle that he had captured. Thereupon Samuel secretly 
anointed David, a young shepherd of the tribe of Judah ; thus 
designating him for the throne. The envy of Saul at the achieve- 
ments of David, and at his growing popularity, coupled with secret 
suspicion of what higher honors might be in store for the valiant 
youth, embittered the king against him. David was befriended 
and shielded by Jonathan, Saul's son, who might naturally be 
looked upon as his suitable successor. The memorials of the 
friendship of these two youths, In the annals of that troublous 
time, are like a star in the darkest night. David was obliged to 
take refuge among the Philistines, where he led a band of free 
lances, whom the Philistines did not trust as auxiliaries, but who 
were inured by their daring combats for the struggles that came 
afterwards. Saul and Jonathan were slain, Saul by his own hand. 
For six years David was king in Hebron, over the tribes of Judah 
and Benjamin. The other tribes were ruled by Saul's son, Ishbaal 
(' Ishbosheth '). At length David was recognized as king by all 
the tribes. Saul's family were exterminated. 

Chronology. — There is much difficulty in settling the chronology in the 
early centuries of the regal period of Hebrew history. Apart from the 
questions which arise in comparing the biblical data, the information derived 
from Egyptian and especially from Assyrian sources has to be taken into ac- 
count. Hence the dates given below must be regarded as open to revision 
as our knowledge increases. 

Assyriologists find that Shalmaneser II. received tribute from Ahab, King of Israel, 854 
B.C., and from 7ehu,^\i B.C. ; that Tiglaih-Pileser 11 L (745-727 B.C.) received tribute from 
Menahem in 738 B.C., and that Samaria fell in 722 B.C. Assyriology, on the basis of its 
data, as at present ascertained, would make out a chronology something like the following: 
Era of the judges, 1300-1020; Saul, 1020 1000; David, 1000-960; Solomon, 960-930; Reho- 
boam, 930-914 (Jeroboam I., 930-910) ; Jehoshaphat, S70-t--850 (Ahab, 875-853) ; Azariah lor 
Uzziahl, 779-740 (Jehu, 842-8i5>; (Jeroboam II., 783-743); iMenahem, 744-738). 

David and Solomon. — David's reign (about 1000-970 B.C.) 
is the period of Israel's greatest power. He extended his sway 



6o UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

as far as the Red Sea and the Euphrates ; he overcame Damascus, 
and broke down the power of the Philistines ; he subdued the 
Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites ; he conquered the Jebusites, 
and made Jerusalem his capital and the center of national wor- 
ship. A poet himself, he enriched the rehgious service, which he 
organized, by lyrics — some of them composed by himself — of 
unrivaled devotional depth and poetic beauty. He organized his 
military force as well, and established an orderly civil administra- 
tion. His favorite son, Absalom, led away by ambition, availed 
himself of disaffection among the people to head a revolt against 
his father, but perished in the attempt. David left his crown to 
Solomoji at the close of a checkered life, marked by great victories, 
and by flagrant misdeeds done under the pressure of temptation. 

Character of Solomon's Reign. — Solomon's reign (about 970— 
933 B.C.) was the era of luxury and splendor. He sought to emu- 
late the other great monarchs of the time. With the help oi Hiram, 
king of Tyre, who furnished materials and artisans, he erected a 
magnificent temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. He built 
costly palaces. He brought horses from Egypt, and organized a 
standing army, with its cavalry and chariots. He established a 
harem, bringing into it women from the heathen countries, whom 
he allowed in their idolatrous rites. He was even seduced to take 
part in them himself. Renowned for his knowledge and for his 
wisdom — which was admired by the Queen of Saba (Sheba), who 
came to visit him from the Arabian coast — famous as the author 
of wise aphorisms, he nevertheless entailed disasters on his coun- 
try. He established a sort of Oriental despotism, which exhausted 
its resources, provoked discontent, and tended to undermine 
morality as well as religion. 

The Divided Kingdoms. — The bad effect of Solomon's mag- 
nificence soon appeared. Before his death a revolt was made under 
the lead of Jeroboam, which was put down. Of Rehoboam, the 
successor of Solomon, the ten tribes north of Judah required 
pledges that their burdens should be lightened. In the room of 
the heads and elders of the tribes, the late king's officers had 
come in to oppress them with their hard exactions. The haughty 
young king spurned the demand for redress. The tribes cast off 
his rule, and v^dA^ Jeroboam I. their king (about 933 B.C.). The 
temple was left in the hands oi Jiidah and Benjamin. The divis- 
ion of the kingdom into two, insured the downfall of both. The 
rising power of the Mesopotamian Empire could not be met with- 
out union. On the other hand, the concentration of worship at 
Jerusalem, under the auspices of the two southern tribes, may have 
averted dangers that would have arisen from the wider diffusion, 
and consequent exposure to corruption, of the religious system. 
The development and promotion of the true religion — the one 



THE HEBREWS. 6l 

great historical part appointed for the Hebrews — may have been 
performed not less effecliveiy, on the whole, for the separation. 

Heathen Rites. — From this time the energetic and prolonged 
contest of the prophets with idolatry is a conspicuous feature, es- 
pecially in the history of Israel, the northern kingdom. Jeroboam 
set up golden calves at Dan and Bethel, ancient seats of the wor- 
ship of Jehovah. Wars with Judah and Damascus weakened the 
strength of Israel. The Egyptian king, Shishak, captured Jerusa- 
lem, and bore away the treasures collected by Solomon (p. 41). 
\]videx Jehoshaphat (about 873-849 B.C.) the heathen altars were 
demolished and prosperity returned. 

Struggle -with Idolatry: Elijah and Elisha. — The contempo- 
rary of Jehoshaphat in the northern kingdom was Ahab (about 
876-854 B.C.). He expended his power and wealth in the build- 
ing up of Baal-worship, at the instigation of the Tyrian princess, 
Jezebel, whom he had married. At Samaria, his capital, he raised 
a temple to Baal, where four hundred and fifty of his priests minis- 
tered. The priests of Jehovah. who withstood these measures were 
driven out of the land, or into hiding-places. The austere and in- 
trepid prophet Elijah found refuge in Mount Carmel. The peo- 
ple, on the occasion of a famine, which he declared to be a divine 
judgment, rose in their wrath, and slew the priests of Baal. In a 
war — the third of a series — which Ahab waged against Syria, he 
still fought in his chariot, after he had received a mortal wound, 
until he fell dead. He had previously thrown the prophet J//Va/^A 
into prison for predicting this result. By the marriage of Athalia, 
a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, with Jehoshaphat's son, Baal-wor- 
ship was introduced into Jerusalem. Jorain succeeded Ahab. The 
prophet Elisha, who followed in the steps of Elijah, anointed 
Jehu "captain of the host of Joram." He undertook, with fierce 
and unsparing energy, to destroy Baal-worship, and to extirpate 
the house of Ahab, root and branch. The two kings of Israel and 
of Judah he slew with his own hand. The priests and servants of 
Baal were put to the sword. These conflicts reduced the strength 
of Israel, which fell a prey to Syria, until its power was revived by 
Jeroboam II. (783-743 B.C.). The death oi Athalia brought on 
the expulsion of the Phoenician idolatry from Jerusalem. The 
southern kingdom suffered from internal strife, and from wars with 
Israel, until Uzziah (779-740 B.C.) restored its military strength, 
and caused agriculture and trade once more to flourish. 

The Assyrian Captivity. — The two kingdoms, in the ninth and 
eighth centuries, instead of standing together against the threaten- 
ing might of Assyria, sought heathen alliances, and wasted their 
strength in mutual contention. Against these hopeless alliances, 
and against the idolatry and the formalism which debased the 
people, the prophets contended with intense earnestness and un- 



62 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

flinching courage. A?nos, called from feeding his flocks, inveighed 
against frivolity and vice, misgovernment and fraud, in Israel. 
Hosea warned Menahem (743-737 B.C.) against invoking the help 
of Assyria against Damascus, but in vain. He was terribly pun- 
ished by what he suffered from the Assyrians ; but Jotham (740- 
736 B.C.) and Ahaz (736-728 B.C.), the Judaean kings, succes- 
sively followed his example. Tiglath-Pileser made Judaea tributary. 
The Assyrian rites were brought into the temple of Jehovah. The 
service of Canaanitish deities was introduced. The one incor- 
ruptible witness for the cause of Jehovah was the fearless and elo- 
quent prophet, Isaiah. Hosea, king of Israel, by his alliance with 
Egypt against Sargon, so incensed this most warlike of the As- 
syrian monarchs, that, when he had subdued the Phoenician cities, 
he laid siege to Samaria ; and, having captured it at the end of a 
siege of three years, he led away the king and the larger part of 
his subjects as captives, to the Euphrates and the Tigris, and re- 
placed them by subjects of his own (722 B.C.). The later Samari- 
tans were the descendants of this mixed population. 

The Babylonian Captivity. — When Sargon, the object of gen- 
eral dread, died, Hezekiah, king of Judah (727-699 B.C.), flat- 
tered himself that it was safe to disregard the warnings of Isaiah, 
and, in the hope of throwing off" the Assyrian yoke, made a treaty 
of alliance with the king of Egypt, and fortified Jerusalem. He 
abolished, however, the heathen worship in "the high places." 
Sennacherib, Sargon's successor, was compelled to raise the siege 
(p. 46). Manasseh (698-643 B.C.), in defiance of the prophets, 
fostered the idolatrous and sensual worship, against which they 
never ceased to lift their voices. Josiah (640-609 B.C.) was a 
reformer. As a tributary of Babylon, he sought to prevent Necho, 
king of Egypt, from crossing his territory, but was vanquished and 
slain at Megiddo, on the plain of Esdrselon. Nebuchadnezzar' s vic- 
tory over Necho, at Carchemish, enabled the Babylonian king to 
tread in the footsteps of the Assyrian conquerors. The revolt of 
Zedekiah, which the prophet Jere?niah was unable to prevent, and 
his alliance with Egypt, led to the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. 
In this period of national ruin, the prophetic spirit found a voice 
through Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It was during the era of Assyrian 
and Babylonian invasion that the predictions of a Messiah, a great 
Deliverer and righteous Ruler who was to come, assumed a more 
definite expression. The spiritual character of Isaiah's teaching 
has given him the name of " the evangelical prophet." 

Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon, opened the way (538 B.C.) 
for the return of the exiles. A small part first came back under 
Zerubbabel, head of the tribe of Judah, who was made Persian 
governor. They began to rebuild the temple, which was finished 
in 516 B.C. Later (458 B.C.) Ezra "the scribe" and Nehemiah 



THE HEBREWS. 63 

led home a larger body. The newly returned Jews were fired 
with a zeal for the observance of the Mosaic ritual, — a zeal which 
had been sharpened in the persecutions and sorrows of exile. The 
era of the " hagiocracy,^'' of the supreme influence of the priesthood 
and the rigid adherence to the law, with an inflexible hostility to 
heathen customs, ensued. The spirit of which prophecy had been 
the stimulant, and partially the fruit, declined. The pohtical in- 
dependence of the land was gone for ever. The day of freedom 
under the Maccabees, after the insurrection (168 B.C.) led by that 
family against the Syrian successors of Alexander, was short. But 
Israel " had been thrown into the stream of nations." Its reli- 
gious influence was to expand as its political strength dwindled. 
Its subjugation and all its terrible misfortunes were to serve as a 
means of spreading the leavening influence of its monotheistic 
faith. 

In the year 63 B.C., Povipeius made the Jews tributary to the Romans. In the year 40 
B.C., Herod began to reign as a dependent king under Rome. 

Heb}ew Literature. — The literature of the Hebrews is essentially reli- 
gious in its whole motive and spirit. This is true even of their historical 
writings. The marks of the one defining characteristic of their national life 
— faith in Jehovah and in his sovereign and righteous control — are every- 
where seen. Hebrew poetry is mainly lyrical. Relics of old songs are scat- 
tered through the historical books. In the Psalms, an anthology of sacred 
lyrics, the spirit of Hebrew poesy attains to its highest flight. Examples of 
didactic poetry are the Book of yol>, and books like the Prozierbs, composed 
mainly of pithy sayings or gnomes. Nowhere, save in the Psalms, does the 
spirit of the Hebrew religion and the genius of the people find an expression 
so grand and moving as in the Prophets, of whom Isaiah is the chief. 

Art. — In art the Hebrews did not excel. The plastic arts were generally 
developed in connection with religion. But the religion of the Hebrews ex- 
cluded all visible representations of deity. Nor were they proficients in sci- 
ence. " Israel was the vessel in which the water of life was inclosed, in 
which it was kept cool and pure, that it might thereafter refresh the world." 

The HISTORICAL BOOKS of the Old Testament comprise, first, the Pentateuch, which de- 
scribes the origin of the Hebrew people, the exodus from Egypt, and the Sinaitic legislation. 
Questions pertaining to the date and authorship of these five books, and of the materials at the 
basis of them, are still debated among historical critics. It may be regarded as certain, how- 
ever, that materials belonging to nearly every period of Hebrew literature, from the earliest 
times, are here combined. The early part of Getiesis is designed to explain the genealogy of 
the Hebrews, and to show how, step by step, they were sundered from other peoples. The 
narratives in the first ten chapters — as the story of the creation, the flood, etc. — so strikingly 
resemble legends of other Semitic nations, especially the Babylonians and Phoenicians, as 
to make it plain that all these groups of accounts are historically connected with one another. 
But the Genesis narratives are distinguished by their freedom from the polytheistic ingredients 
which disfigure the corresponding narratives elsewhere. They are on the elevated plane of 
that pure theism which is the kernel of the Hebrew faith. This whole subject is elucidated by 
Lenormant, in The Begiiitiings of History (1882). The Book of Joshua relates the history 
of the conquest of Canaan; Judges, the tale of the heroic age of Israel prior to the monarchy; 
the Books of Samuel and of Kings, of the monarchy in its glory and its decline; the Books of 
Chronicles treat of parts of the same era, more from the point of view of the priesthood; 
Ruth is an idyl of the narrative type; Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther have to do with the 
return of the Jews from exile, and the events next following. 

The POETIC WRITINGS include the Psalter, by many authors; the Proverbs of Solomon 
and others; Ecclesiastes, which gives the sombre reflections of one who had tasted to the full 
the pleasures and honors of life; the Canticles, or Song of Solomon, which depicts a young 
woman's love in its constancy, and victory over temptation. 

The PROPHETS are divided into four classes: r. Those of the early period from the twelfth 
to the ninth century, including Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, etc , who have left no prophetical 



64 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

writings. 2. The prophets of the Assyrian age (800-700 B.C.), where belong Amos, Hosea, 
Isaiah, Micah, and Nahtcm. 3. The prophets of the Babylonian age, Zephaniah, Jere- 
7niah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel. Here some scholars would place a part of Isaiah. 4. The 
post-exilian prophets, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi, Jonah, Daniel, Joel, Obadiah, and 
considerable portions of Isaiah and Jeremiah. 

The APOCRYPHAL BOOKS belong between the closing of the Old-Testament canon and the 
New Testanient. They are mstructive as to that intermediate period. The 7??-.?^ Book of 
Maccahe_es is specially important for its historical matter; the Books of Wisdom and the 
Soil of Sirach, for their moral reflections and precepts. 

Works relating to Hebrew History. — Ewald, //w^orj/ of the Israelitish People 
(Eng. trans., 5 vols.); WWm^n, History of the Jems (3 vols.); Stade, Geschichte des Volkes 
Israel (2 vols., 1889); Renan, History of the People of Israel (En.s;. trans., 1896); Well- 
hausen. Israelitische nnd jiidische Geschichte (3d ed., 1897); Kent, History of tlie Hebrew 
People (189S): Guthe, Geschichte des Volkes Israel U899) ; the Art. Israel by Well- 
hausen, in the Encycl. Brit., and the one by Guthe in the Encycl. Bibl. The histori- 
cal works of Jewish scholars, Herzfeld, Jost, Zunz, Graetz, Derenbourg, etc., are 
valuable. 



CHAPTER V. 
THE PERSIANS. 



In the western part of the plateau of Iran, which extends from 
the Suleiman Mountains to the plains of Mesopotamia, were the 
Aftdes. On the southern border of the same plateau, along the 
Persian Gulf, were the Persians. Both were offshoots of the Aryan 
family, and had migrated westward from the region of the upper 
Oxus, from Bactria, the original seat of their religion. 

Religion. — The ancient religion of the Iranians, including the 
Medes and Persians, was reduced to a system by the Bactrian sage, 
Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) , who, in the absence of authentic knowl- 
edge respecting him, may be conjecturally placed at about looo 
B.C. The Zendavesta, the sacred book of the Parsees, the adher- 
ents of this religion, is composed of parts belonging to very differ- 
ent dates. It is the fragment of a more extensive literature no 
longer extant. The Bactrian religion differed from that of their 
Sanskrit-speaking kindred on the Indus, in being a form of dualism. 
It grew out of a behef in good demons or spirits, and in evil spirits, 
making up two hosts perpetually in conflict with each other. At 
the head of the host of good spirits, in the Zoroastrian creed, was 
Ormuzd, the creator, and the god of light ; at the head of the evil 
host, was Ahriman, the god of darkness. The one inade the world 
good, the other laid in it all that is evil. The one is disposed to 
bless man, the other to do him harm. The conflict of virtue and 
vice in man is a contest for control on the part of these antagonistic 
powers. In order to keep off the spirits of evil, one must avoid 
what is morally or ceremonially unclean. He who lived pure, 
went up at death to the spirits of light. The evil soul departed 
to consort with evil spirits in the region of darkness. Mithrq, the 
sun-god in the Zoroastrian system, is the equal, though the crea- 
ture, of Ormuzd. Mithra is the conqueror of darkness, and so the 



THE PERSIANS. 6$ 

enemy of falsehood. The Medes and Persians were fire-worship- 
ers. To the good spirits, they ascribed life, the fruitful earth, the 
refreshing waters, fountains and rivers, the tilled ground, pastures 
and trees, the lustrous metals, also truth and the pure deed. To 
the evil spirits belonged darkness, disease, death, the desert, cold, 
filth, sin, and falsehood. The animals were divided between the 
two realms. All that live in holes, all that hurt the trees and 
the crops, rats and mice, reptiles of all sorts, turtles, lizards, ver- 
min, and noxious insects, were hateful creatures of Ahriman. To 
kill any of these was a merit. The dog was held sacred ; as was 
also the cock, who announces the break of day. In the system of 
worship, sacrifices were less prominent than in India. Prayers, and 
the iteration of prayers, were of great moment. 

The Magi. — The Zoroastrian religion was not the same at all 
times and in every place. The primitive Iranian emigrants were 
monotheistic in their tendencies. In their western abodes, they 
came into contact with worshipers of the elements, — fire, air, 
earth, and water. It is thought by many scholars, that the Magian 
system, with its more defined dualism and sacerdotal sway, vas 
ingrafted on the native religion of the Iranians through the in- 
fluence of tribes with whom they mingled in Media. The Magi, 
according to one account, were charged by Darius with corrupting 
the Zoroastrian faith and worship. Whatever may have been their 
origin, they became the leaders in worship, and privy-counselors 
to the sovereign. They were likewise astrologers, and interpreters 
of dreams. They were not so distinct a class as the priests in 
India. A hereditary order, they might still bring new members 
into their ranks. From the Medes, they were introduced among 
the Persians. 

Persian Religious Customs. — Peculiar customs existed among 
the Medes in disposing of the dead. They were not to be cast 
into the fire or the water, or buried in the earth, for this would 
bring pollution to what was sacred ; but their bodies were to be 
exposed in the high rocks, where the beasts and birds could devour 
them. Sacrifices were offered on hill-tops. Salutations of homage 
were made to the rising sun. On some occasions, boys were 
buried alive, as an offering to the divinities. In early times, there 
were no images of the gods. As far as they were introduced in 
later times, it was through the influence of surrounding nations. 
In the supremacy and the final victory, which, in the later form of 
Zoroastrianism, were accorded to Orvmzd, there was again an 
approach to monotheism. Hostility to deception of all sorts, and 
thus to stealing, was a Persian trait. Herodotus says that the 
Persians taught their children to ride, to shoot the bow, and to 
speak tlie truth. To prize the pursuits of agriculture and horti- 
culture, was a part of their religion. They allowed a plurality of 



66 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

wives, and concubines with them ; but there was one wife to whom 
precedence belonged. Voluntary celibacy in man or woman was 
counted a flagrant sin. 

History. — The first authentic notice that we have of the Medes 
shows them under Assyrian power. This is in the time of Shal- 
?naneser II., 840 B.C. Their rise is coincident with the fall of 
Assyria. Phraortes (647-625 B.C.) began the Median struggle for 
independence ; although the name of Deioces is given by Herodotus 
as a previous king, and the builder of Ecbatana the capital. It 
was reserved for Cyaxares (625-585 B.C.), having delivered his 
land from the Scythian marauders (p. 47), to complete, in con- 
junction with the Babylonian king, Nabopolassar, the work of break- 
ing down the Assyrian empire (p. 48). He brought under his rule 
the Bactrians, and the Persians about Pasargada and Persepolis, 
and made the Halys, dividing Asia Minor, the limit of his king- 
dom. His effeminate son, Astyages, lost what his father had won. 
The Persian branch of the Iranians gained the supremacy. Cyrus, 
the leader of the Persian revolt, by whom Astyages was defeated, 
is described as related to him ; but this story, as well as the account 
of his being rescued from death and brought up among shepherds, 
is probably a fiction. 

Cyrus. — In the sixth century B.C., this famous ruler and con- 
queror became the founder of an empire which comprised nearly 
all the civilized nations of Asia. During his reign of thirty years 
(559-530 B.C.), he annexed to his kingdom the two principal 
states, Lydia and Babylon. The king of Lydia was Croesus, 
whose story, embellished with romantic details, was long familiar 
as a signal example of the mutations of fortune. Doomed to he 
burned after the capture of Sardis, his capital, he was heard, just 
when the fire was to be kindled, to say something about Solon. 
In answer to the inquiry of Cyrus, whose curiosity was excited, he 
related how that Grecian sage, after beholding his treasures, had 
refused to call him the most fortunate of men, on the ground that 
"no man can be called happy before his death," because none 
can tell what disasters may befall him. Cyrus, according to the 
narrative, touched by the tale, delivered Croesus from death, and 
thereafter bestowed on him honor and confidence. 

There is another form of the tradition, which is deemed by some more probable. Croesus 
is said to have stood on a pyre, intending to offer himself in the flames, to propitiate the god 
Sando7t, that his people might be saved from destruction; but he \j2& prevented, it is said, by 
unfavorable auguries. 

The subjection of the Greek colonies on the Asia-Minor coast 
followed upon the subjugation of Lydia. From these colonies, the 
PhoccBans went forth, and founded Elea in Lower Italy, and Mas- 
silia (Marseilles) in Gaul. The Asian Greek cities were each 
allowed its own municipal rulers, but paid tribute to the Persian 
master. The conquest of Babylon (538 B.C.), as it opened the 



THE PERSIANS. 6*] 

way for the return to Jerusalem of the Jewish exiles, enabled Cyrus 
to establish a friendly people in Judaea, as a help in fortifying his 
sway in Syria, and in opening a path to Egypt. But in 529 he lost 
his life in a war which he was waging against the Massagetce, a 
tribe on the Caspian, allied in blood to the Scythians. 

There was a tradition that the barbarian queen, Totnyris, enraged that 
Cyrus had overcome her son by deceit, dipped the slain king's head in a 
skin-bag of blood, exclaiming, " Drink thy fill of blood, of which thou couldst 
not have enough in thy lifetime!" 

Cambyses. — The successor of Cyrus, a man not less warlike 
than he, but more violent in his passions, reigned but seven years 
(529-522 B.C.). His most conspicuous achievement was the con- 
quest of Egypt. One ground or pretext of his hostility, according 
to the tale of Herodotus, was the fact that Amasis, the predeces- 
sor of Psamvieticus III., not daring to refuse the demand of his 
daughter as a wife, to be second in rank to the Persian queen, had 
fraudulently sent, either to Cambyses, or, before his time, to Cyrus, 
Nitetis, the daughter of the king who preceded him, Apries. De- 
feated at Pelusium, and compelled to yield up Memphis after a 
siege, it is said that Psammeticus, the Psammenitus of Herodotus, 
the unfortunate successor of the powerful Pharaohs, was obliged 
to look on the spectacle of his daughters in the garb of working- 
women, bearing water, and to see his sons, with the principal young 
nobles, ordered to execution. But this tale lacks confirmation. 
His cruelties were probably of a later date, and were provoked by 
the chagrin he felt, and the satisfaction manifested by the people, 
at the failure of great expeditions which he sent southward for the 
conquest of Meroe, and westward against the Oasis of Amnion. 
His armies perished in the Lybian deserts. Even the story of his 
stabbing the sacred steer {Apis), after these events, although it 
may be true, is not sanctioned by the Egyptian inscriptions. His 
attack upon Ammon probably arose, in part at least, from a desire 
to possess himself of whatever lay between Egypt and the Car- 
thaginian territory. But the Phoenician sailors who manned his 
fleet refused to sail against their brethren in Carthage. Cambyses 
assumed the title and character of an Egyptian sovereign. The 
story of his madness is an invention of the Egyptian priests. 

Darius (521-485 B.C.). — For a short time, a pretender, a 
Magian, who called himself Smerdis, and professed to be the 
brother of Cambyses, usurped the throne. Cambyses is said to 
have put an end to his own life. After a reign of seven months, 
during which he kept himself for the most part hidden from view, 
Smerdis was destroyed by a rising of the leading Persian families. 
Darius, the son of Hystaspes, of the royal race of the Aduemenidcc, 
succeeded. He married Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus. The 
countries which composed an Oriental empire were so loosely held 



68 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

together that the death of a despot or the change of a dynasty 
was very likely to call forth a general insurrection. Darius showed 
his military prowess in conquering anew various countries, including 
Babylon, which had revolted. He made Arabia tributary, and spread 
the bounds of his vast empire as far as India and in North Africa. 
A mighty expedition which he organized against the Scythians on 
the Lower Danube failed of the results that were hoped from it. 
The barbarians wasted their own fields, filled up their wells, drove 
off their cattle, and fled as the army of Darius advanced. He re- 
turned, however, with the bulk of his army intact, although with a 
loss of prestige, and enrolled " the Scyths beyond the sea" among 
the subjects of his empire. His armies conquered the tribes of 
Thf'ace, so that he pushed his boundaries to the frontiers of Mace- 
donia: The rebellion of the Greek cities on the Asia-Minor coast 
he suppressed, and harshly avenged. Of his further conflicts with 
the Greeks on the mainland, more is to be said hereafter. He had 
built Persepolis, but his principal seat of government appears to 
have been Susa. He did a great work in organizing his imperial 
system. The division into satrapies — large districts, each under a 
satrap, or viceroy — was a part of this work. He thus introduced 
a more efficient and methodical administration into his empire, — 
an empire four times as large as the empire of Assyria, which it 
had swallowed up. 

Government. — Persia proper corresponded nearly to the modern prov- 
ince of Fajsistan or Fa7's. The Persian Empire stretched from east to west 
for a distance of about three thousand miles, and was from five hundred to 
fifteen hundred miles in width. It was more than half as large as modern 
Europe. It comprised not less than two millions of square miles. Its popu- 
lation under Darius may have been seventy or eight)' millions. He brought 
in uniformity of administration. In each satrapy, besides the satrap hnnself, 
who was a despot within his own dominion, there was at first a commander 
of the troops, and a secretary, whose business it was to make reports to the 
Great King. These three officers were really watchmen over one another. 
It was through spies ("eyes" and "ears") of the king that he was kept 
informed of what was taking place in every part of the empire. At length 
it was found necessary to give the satraps the command of the troops, which 
took away one important check upon their power. There was a regular 
system of taxation, but to this were added extraordinary and oppressive 
levies. Darius introduced a uniform coinage. The name of the coin, " daric," 
is probably not derived from his name, however. Notwithstanding the govern- 
ment by satraps, local laws and usages were left, to a large extent, undis- 
turbed. Great roads, and postal communication for the exclusive use of 
the government, connected the capital with the distant provinces. In this 
point the Persians set an example which was followed by the Romans. From 
Susa to Sardis, a distance of about seventeen hundred English miles, stretched 
a road, along which, at proper intervals, were caravansaries, and over which 
the fleet couriers of the king rode in six or seven days. The king was an 
absolute lord and master, who disposed of the lives and property of his sub- 
jects without restraint. To him the most servile homage was paid. He 
lived mostly in seclusion in his palace. On great occasions he sat at banquet 
with his nobles. His throne was made of gold, silver, and ivory. All who 



THE PERSIANS. 69 

approached him kissed the earth. His ordinary dress was probably of the 
richest silk. He took his meals mostly by himself. His fare was made up 
of the choicest delicacies. His seraglio, guarded by eunuchs, contained a 
multitude of inmates, brought together by his arbitrary command, over whom, 
in a certain way, the queen-mother presided. His chief diversions were 
playing at dice within doors, and hunting without. Paradises, or parks, 
walled in, planted with trees and shrubbery, and furnished with refreshing 
fountains and streams, were his hunting-ground. Such inclosures were the 
delight of all Persians. In war he was attended with various officers in close 
attendance on his person, — the stool-bearer, the bow-bearer, etc. In peace, 
there was another set, among whom was "the parasol-bearer," — for to be 
sheltered by the parasol was an exclusive privilege of the king, — the fan- 
bearer, etc. There were certain privileged families, — six besides the royal 
clan of the Ac/unneitidir, the chiefs of all of which were his counselors, and 
from whom he was bound to choose his legitimate wives. When the monarch 
traveled, even on military expeditions, he was accompanied by the whole 
varied apparatus of luxury which ministered to his pleasures in the court, — 
costly furniture, a vast retinue of attendants, of inmates of the harem, etc. 

Army and Navy. — The arms of the footman were a sword, a spear, 
and a bow. Persian bowmen were skillful. Persian cavalry, both heavy and 
light, were their most effective arm. The military leaders depended on the 
celerity of their horsemen and the weight of their numbers. It is doubtful 
whether they employed military engines. They were not wholly ignorant of 
strategy. Their troops were marshaled by nations, each in its own costume, 
the commander of the whole being in the center of the line of battle. The 
body-guard of the king was " the Immortals," a body of ten thousand picked 
footmen, the number being always kept intact. The enemies of the Persians, 
except in the case of rebels, were not treated with inhumanity. In this regard 
the Persians are in marked contrast with the Semitic ferocity of the Assyrians. 
Their navies were drawn from the subject-peoples. The trireme, with its 
projecting prow shod with iron, and its crew of two hundred men, was the 
principal, but not the only vessel used in sea-fights. 

Literature and Art. — A Persian youth was ordinarily taught to read, 
but there was little intellectual culture. Boys were trained in athletic exer- 
cises. It was a discipline in hardy and temperate habits. Etiquette, in all 
ranks of the people, was highly esteemed. The Persians, as a nation, were 
bright-minded, and not deficient in fancy and imagination. But they con- 
tributed little to science. Their religious ideas were an heirloom from remote 
ancestors. The celebrated Persian poet, Firdousi, lived in the tenth century 
of our era. His great poem, the Shahnamch, or Book of Kings, is a store- 
house of ancient traditions. It is probable that the ancient poetry of the 
Persians, like this production, was of moderate merit. Of the Persian archi- 
tecture and sculpture, we derive our knowledge from the massive ruins of 
Persepolis, which was burned by Alexander the Great, and from the remains 
of other cities. They had learned from Assyria and Babylon, but they dis- 
play no high degree of artistic talent. They were not an intellectual people : 
they were soldiers and rulers. 

Literature —Works mentioned on pp 16, 42; Encycl. Brit., Art. Persia; Vaux, 
Persia from the Monuments (1876) : Noldeke, A ufsdize znr persischen Geschichte (1887) ; 
Justi, Geschichte frans {itjoo): Markham, General Sketch of the History 0/ Persia{iij^). 

RETROSPECT. 

In Eastern Asia the Chinese nation was built up, the principal 
achievement of the Mongolian race. Its influence was restricted 
to neighboring peoples of kindred blood. Its civilization, having 
once attained to a certain stage of progress, remained for the 



70 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

most part stationary. China, in its isolation, exerted no power 
upon the general course of history. Not until a late age, when 
the civilization of the Caucasian race should be developed, was 
the culture of China to produce, in the mingling of the European 
and Asiatic peoples, its full fruits, even for China herself. India — 
although the home of a Caucasian immigrant people, a people of 
the Aryan family too — was cut off by special causes from playing 
an effective part, either actively or passively, in the general historic 
movement. 

Egypt, from 1500 to 1300 B.C., was the leading community of 
the ancient world. But civilization in Egypt, at an early date, 
crystallized in an unchanging form. The aim was to preserve un- 
altered what the past had brought out. The bandaged mummy, 
the result of the effort to preserve even the material body of 
man for all future time, is a type of the leaden conservatism which 
pervaded Egyptian life. The pre-eminence of Egypt was lost 
by the rise of the Semitic states to increasing power. Semitic 
arras and culture were in the ascendant for six centuries (1300 to 
700 B.C.). Babylonia shares with Egypt the distinction of being 
one of the two chief fountains of culture. From Babylonia, as- 
tronomy, writing, and other useful arts were disseminated among 
the other Semitic peoples. It was a strong state even before 
2000 B.C. Babylon was a hive of industry, and was active in 
trade, a link of intercourse between the East and the West. But 
this function of an intermediate was discharged still more effec- 
tively by the Phoenicians, the first great commercial and naval 
power of antiquity. Tyre reached the acme of its prosperity under 
Hiram, the contemporary o{ Solomon, about 1000 B.C. Meantime, 
among the Hebrew people, the foundations of the true religion 
had been laid, — that religion of monotheism which in future ages 
was to leaven the nations. Contemporaneously, the Assyrian 
Monarchy was rising to importance on the banks of the Tigris. 
The appearance, " in the first half of the ninth century B.C., of a 
power advancing from the heart of Asia towards the West, is an 
event of immeasurable importance in the history of the world." 
The Israelites were divided. About the middle of the eighth 
century B.C., both of their kingdoms lost their independence. 
Assyria was vigorous in war, but had no deep foundation of national 
life. " Its religion was not rooted in the soil, like that of Egypt, 
nor based on the observation of the sky and stars, like that of 
Babylon." " Its gods were gods of war, manifesting themselves 
in the prowess of ruling princes." The main instrument in effect- 
ing the downfall of Assyria was the Medo-Persian power. Through 
the Medes and Persians, the Aryan race comes forward into con- 
spicuity and control. One branch of the Iranians of Bactria, 
entering India, through the agency of climate and other physical 



THE PERSIANS. 7 1 

influences converted their religion into a mystical and speculative 
pantheism, and their social organization into a caste-system under 
the rule of a priesthood. The Medes and Persians, under other 
circumstances, in contact with tribes about them, turned their 
religion into a dualism, yet with a monotheistic drift that was not 
wholly extinguished. The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus anni- 
hilated Semitic power. The fall of Lydia, the conquest of Egypt 
by Ca7)ibyses, and the victories of Darius, brought the world into 
subjection to Persian rule. 

The dates of some of the most important historical events in this Section are as follow 
Menes, the first historic king of Egypt ..... about 4000 B.C. 

Accession of Ramses II. to the Egyptian throne ■ . . . 1340 B.C. 

Rise of the Babylonian kingdom about 4000 B.C. 

Reign of Hiram at Tyre, and of Solomon .... about 950 B.C. 

Assyrian captivity: downfall of Israel 722 B.C. 

Fall of Nineveh 606 B.C. 

Babylonian captivity : downfall of Judah 586 B.C. 

Reign of Cyrus begins 559 B.C. 

Fall of Lydia: capture of Sardis .... ... 546 B.C. 

Fall of Babylon ■ . . . . 538 B.C. 

Reign of Darius begins 521 B.C. 

Beginnings of Civilization. — In the history of Western Asia 
we discern the beginnings of civilization and of the true religion. 
In the room of useless and destructive tribal warfare, great num- 
bers are banded together under despotic rule. Cities were built, 
where property and life could be protected, and within whose 
massive walls of vast circumference the useful arts and the rudi- 
ments of science could spring up. Trade and commerce, by land 
and sea, naturally followed. Thus nations came to know one 
another. Aggressive war and subjugation had a part in the same 
result. The power of the .peoples of western Asia, the guardians 
of infant civilization, availed to keep back the hordes of barbarians 
on the north, or, as in the case of the great Scythian invasion 
(p. 47), to drive them back to their own abodes. 

Defects of Asiatic Civilization. — But the civilization of the 
Asiatic empires had radical and fatal defects. The development 
of human nature was in some one direction, to the exclusion of 
other forms of human activity. As to knowledge, it was confined 
within a limit beyond which progress was slow. The geometry of 
Egypt and the astronomy of Babylon remained where the neces- 
sity of the pyramid-builders and the superstition of the astrologers 
had carried them. Even the art of war was in a rudimental stage. 
In battle, huge multitudes were precipitated upon one another. 
There are some evidences of strategy, when we reach the cam- 
paigns of Cyrus. But war was full of barbarities, — the destruction 
of cities, the expatriation of masses of people, the pitiless treat- 
ment of captives. Architecture exhibits magnitude without ele- 
gance. Temples, palaces, and tombs are monuments of labor rather 
than creations of art. They impress oftener by their size than by 



yi UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

their beauty. Statuary is inert and massive, and appears insepa- 
rable from the buildings to which it is attached. Literature, with 
the exception of the Hebrew, is hardly less monotonous than art. 
The religion of the Semitic nations, the Hebreivs excepted, so far 
from containing in it a purifying element, tended to degrade its 
votaries by feeding the flame of sensual and revengeful passion. 
What but debasement could come from the worship of Astarte and 
the Phoenician El? 

The great empires did not assimilate the nations which they 
comprised. They were boupd, but not in the least fused, together. 
Persia went farther than any other empire in creating a uniform 
administration, but even the Persian Empire remained a conglom- 
erate of distinct peoples. 

Oriental Government. — The government of the Oriental na- 
tions was a despotism. It was not a government of laws, but the 
will of the one master was omnipotent. The counterpart of tyr- 
anny in the ruler was cringing, abject servility in the subject. 
Humanity could not thrive, man could not grow to his full stature, 
under such a system. If was on the soil of Europe and among 
the Greeks that a better type of manhood and a true idea of hb- 
erty were to spring up. 



SAXONY. 

Ilarz Mts. 'i'liuringian 
Northern Plains. I'urett. 



Pint, i.f 
Bavaria. 



Plains of 
tlie Fo. 



J'UO.M NoKlU 




Division II. 
EUROPE. 

Physical Geography. — The Alps, continued on the west by 
the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian mountains, and carried eastward 
to the Black Sea by the Balkan range, form an irregular line, that 
separates the three peninsulas of Spain, Italy, and Greece from 
the great plain of central Europe. On the north of this plain, 
there is a corresponding system of peninsulas and islands, where 
the Baltic answers in a measure to the Mediterranean. This 
midland sea, which at once unites and separates the three conti- 
nents, is connected with the Atlantic by the narrow Strait of Gib- 
raltar, and on the east is continued in the yEgean Sea, or the 
Archipelago, which leads into the Hellespont, or the Strait of 
the Dardanelles, thence onward into the Propontis, or Sea of Mar- 
mora, and through the Bosphorus into the Black Sea, and the Sea 
of Azoff beyond. From the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean the 
Mediterranean is parted by a space which is now traversed by a 
canal. The irregularity of the coast-line is one of the characteris- 
tic features of the European continent. Especially are the north- 
ern shores of the Mediterranean indented by arms of the sea; 
and this, along with the numerous islands, marks out the whole 
region as remarkably adapted to maritime life and commercial 
intercourse. 

Its Inhabitants. — Europe was early inhabited by branches of 
the Aryan race. The cradle or primitive seat of the Aryan family 
— from which its two main divisions, the European and the Asiatic, 
went forth — is not known. It is a matter of theory and debate. 
We find the Grccco-Latin peoples on the south, the more central 
nations of Celtic speech, the more northern Teutons, and in the 
north-east the Slavonians. But how all these Aryan branches are 
mutually related, and of the order and path of their prehistoric 
migrations, little is definitely known. The Celts were evidently 
preceded by non- Aryan inhabitants, of whom the Basques in Spain 
and France are a relic. The Celtiberians in Spain, as the name 
implies, were a mixture of the Celts with the native non-Aryan 
Iberians. The Greeks and the Italians had a common ancestry, as 



74 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

we know by their languages ; but of that common ancestry neither 
Greeks nor Latins in the historic period retained any recollection ; 
nor can we safely affirm, that, of that earlier stock, they alone were 
the offspring. 

" All the known Indo-European languages," writes Professor Whitney, " are descended 
from a single dialect, which must have been spoken at some time in the past by a single limited 
community, by the spread and emigration of which — not, certainly, without incorporating also 
bodies of other races than that to which itself belonged by origin — it has reached its present 
wide distribution." " Of course, it would be a matter of the highest interest to determine the 
place and period of this important community, were there any means of doing so; but that is 
not the case, at least at present." " The condition of these languages is reconcilable with any 
possible theory as to the original site of the family." " One point is established, that ' the sep- 
aration of the five European branches must have been later than their common separation from 
the two Asiatic branches,' the Iranians and Indians." (Whitney's The Life and Growth of 
Language, dd. iqi, 193.) 



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Section I. 
GRECIAN HISTORY. 

The Land. — " Greeks " is not a name which the people who 
bore it applied to themselves. It was a name given them by their 
kinsfolk, the Romans. They called themselves Hellenes, and 
their land they called Bellas. Hellas, or Greece proper, included 
the southern portion of the peninsula of which it is a part, the por- 
tion bounded on the north by Olympus and the Cambunian Moun- 
tains, and extending south to the Mediterranean. Its shores were 
washed on the east by the ^gean, on the west by the Adriatic, or 
Ionian Gulf. The length of Hellas was about two hundred and 
fifty Enghsh miles : its greatest width, measured on the northern 
frontier, or from Attica on a line westward, was about a hundred 
and eighty miles. It is somewhat smaller than Portugal. 

Along its coast are many deep bays. Long and narrow prom- 
ontories run out into the sea. Thus a great length is given to the 
sea-coast, which abounds in commodious harbors. The tideless 
waters are safe for navigators. Scattered within easy distance of 
the shore are numerous islands of great fertility and beauty. So 
high and rugged are the mountains that communication between 
different places is commonly easier by water than by land. A 
branch of the Alps at the forty-second parallel of latitude turns to 
the south-east, and descends to Tccnarum, the southern promon- 
tory. On either side, lateral branches are sent off, at short inter- 
vals, to the east and the west. From these in turn, branches, 
especially on the east, are thrown out in the same direction as the 
main ridge ; that is, from north to south. Little room is left for 
plains of much extent. Thessaly, with its single river, the Pencus, 
was such a plain. There were no navigable rivers. Most of the 
streams were nothing more than winter-torrents, whose beds were 
nearly or quite dry in the summer. They often groped their way 
to the sea through underground channels, either beneath lakes or 
in passages which the streams themselves bored through limestone. 
The physical features of the country fitted it for the development 
of small states, distinct from one another, yet, owing especially to 
the relations of the land to the sea, full of life and movement. 

75 



^6 UNIVERSAL HISTORY. 

The Grecian States. — The territory of Greece included (i) 
Northern Greece, comprising all north of the Malian (Zeitoum) 
and Ambracian (Arta) gulfs ; (2) Central Greece, extending thence 
to the Gulf of Corinth ; (3) the peninsula of Peloponnesus 
(Morea) to the south of the isthmus. The country was occupied, 
in the flourishing days of Greece, by not less than seventeen 
states. 

Northern Greece contained two principal countries, Thessaly and Epirus, 
separated from one another by the Pindtis. Thessaly was the largest and 
most fertile of the Grecian states. The Peiietis, into which poured the 
mountain streams, passed to the sea through a narrow gorge, the famous 
Vale of Tempe. In the mountainous region of Epirus were numerous 
streams flowing through the valleys. Within it was the ancient Dodona, the 
seat of the oracle. Magnesia, east of Thessaly, on the coast, comprised 
within it the two ranges of Ossa and Pelioti. Central Greece contained eleven 
states. Mails had on its eastern edge the pass of Thermopyla. In Pkocis, 
on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus, was Delphi. Bceotia was dis- 
tinguished for the number and size of its cities, the chief of which was Thebes. 
Attica projected from Bceotia to the south-east, its length being seventy miles, 
and its greatest width thirty miles. Its area was only about seven hun- 
dred and twenty square miles. It was thus only a little more than half as 
large as the State of Rhode Island, which has an area of thirteen hundred 
and six square miles. Its only important town was Athens. Its rivers, the 
Ilissus and the two Cephissiisses, were nothing more than torrent courses. 
In Southern Greece were eleven countries. The territory of Corinth embraced 
most of the isthmus, and a large tract in Peloponnesus. It had but one 
considerable city, Corinth, which had two ports, — one on the Corinthian 
Gulf, Lechcsiim, and the other on the Saronic Gulf, Cenchrece. Arcadia, 
the central mountain country, has been called the Switzerland of Pelopon- 
nesus. It comprised numerous important towns, as Mantinea, Orchomenus, 
and, in later times. Megalopolis. In the south-east was Laconia, with an area 
of about nineteen hundred square miles. It consisted mainly of the valley 
of the Eurotas, which lay between the lofty mountain ranges of Partion and 
Taygettis. " Hollow Lacedasmon " was a phrase descriptive of its situation. 
Sparta, the capital, was on the Eurotas, twenty miles from the sea. It had 
no other important city. Argolis, projecting into the sea, eastward of Arca- 
dia, had within it the ancient towns of Mycence and Argos. 

The Islands. — It must be remembered that the waters between 
Europe and Asia were not a separating barrier, but a close bond 
of connection. There is scarcely a single point " where, in clear 
weather, a mariner would feel himself left in a solitude between 
sky and water ; the eye reaches from island to island, and easy 
voyages of a day lead from bay to bay." Greek towns, including 
very ancient places, were scattered along the western coast of Asia 
Minor, between the mountains and the shore. The ^gean was 
studded with Greek islands. These, together with the islands in 
the Ionian Sea, on the west, formed a part of Greek territory. 

The principal island near Greece was Eubcea, stretching for a hundred 
miles along the east coast of Attica, Bceotia, and Locris. On the opposite 
side of the peninsula, west of Epirus, was the smaller but yet large island 
of Corcyra (Corfu). On the west, besides, were Ithaca, Cephallenia, and 
Zacynthus (Zante) ; on the south, the CEnussce Islands and Cythera; on the 



GRECIAN HISTORY. "J"/ 

east, ^gifia, Sahmis, etc. From the south-eastern shores of Euboea and 
Attica, the Cyclades and Sporades extended in a continuous series, "like 
a set of stepping-stones," across the ^gean Sea to Asia Minor. From 
Corcyra and the Acroceraunian promontory, one could descry, in clear 
weather, the Italian coast. These were all littoral islands. Besides these, 
there were other islands in the northern and central .^F.gean, such as Lem- 
nos, Samothrace, Delos, Naxos, etc. ; and in the southern vEgean, Crete, an 
island mountainous but fertile, a hundred and fifty miles in length from east 
to west, and about fifteen in breadth, and containing more than two thou- 
sand square miles. The Greek race was still more widely diffused through 
the settlements in and about the western Mediterranean. 

The Bond of Race. — The Greeks, or Hellenes, were not so 
much a nation as a united race. Politically divided, they were 
conscious of a fraternal bond that connected them, wherever they 
might be found, and parted them from the rest of mankind. 
Their sense of brotherhood is implied in the fabulous behef in a 
common ancestor named Hellen. Together with a fellowship in 
blood, there was a community in language, notwithstanding minor 
differences in dialect. Moreover, there was a common religion. 
They worshiped the same gods. They had the same ritual, and 
cherished in common the same beliefs respecting things supernat- 
ural. In connection with these ties of blood, of language, and of 
religion, they celebrated together great national festivals, like the 
Olympic games, in which Greeks from all parts of the world might 
take part, and into which they entered with a peculiar enthusiasm. 
As the Jews, following the impulses of a holier faith, went up to 
Jerusalem to celebrate as one family their sacred rites ; so the 
Greeks repaired to hallowed shrines of Zeus or Apollo, assembling 
from afar on the plain of Olympia and at the foot of Parnassus. 

DIVISIONS OF GREEK HISTORY. 

Greek history embraces tJu-ee general periods. The first is the 
formative period, and extends to the Persian wars, 500 B.C. The 
second period covers the flourishing era of Greece, from 500 B.C. 
to 359 B.C. The third is the Macedonian period, when the 
freedom of Greece was lost, — the era of Philip and Alexander, 
and of Alexander's successors. 

Period I. is divided into (i) the mythical or prehistoric age, 
extending to 776 B.C. ; (2) the age of the formation of the prin- 
cipal states. Period II, includes (i) the Persian wars, 502-479 
B.C. ; (2) the period of Athenian supremacy, 478-431 B.C. ; (3) 
the Peloponnesian war, 431-404 B.C., with the Spartan, followed 
by the Theban ascendency, 404-362 B.C. Period III. includes 
(i) the reigns of Philip and Alexander, 359-323 B.C.; (2) the 
kingdoms into which the empire of Alexander was divided. 



Period I. 
GREECE PRIOR TO THE PERSIAN WARS. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE PREHISTORIC AGE. 

Origin of the Greeks. — Before the Hellenes parted from their 
Aryan ancestry, they had words for "father," "mother," "broth- 
er," "son," and "daughter," as well as for certain connections 
by marriage. They lived in houses, pastured flocks and herds, 
possessed dogs and horses. They had for weapons, the sword 
and the bow. "They knew how to work gold, silver, and copper; 
they could count up to a hundred ; they reckoned time by the 
lunar month ; they spoke of the sky as the 'heaven- father.' " The 
differences between the Greek and the Latin languages prove, also, 
that the Greeks and Italians, after their common progenitors broke 
off from the primitive Aryan stock, had long dwelt apart. The 
Greeks, when they first become known to us in historical times, 
consist of two great branches, the Dorians and lonians, together 
with a less distinct branch, the ^olians, which differs less, per- 
haps, from the parent Hellenes than do the two divisions just 
named. 

It is a probable opinion of scholars, that the halting-place of the 
Hellenes, whence, in successive waves, they passed over into Greece, 
was Fhrygia, in the north-west of Asia Minor. Preceding the 
Greeks both in northern Greece and in Peloponnesus, and spread 
over the coasts and islands of the Archipelago, was a people of 
whom they had an indistinct knowledge, whom they called Pelas- 
gians. They were husbandmen or herdsmen. Their national 
sanctuary was at Dodo7ia, in Epirus. The "Cyclopean" ruins, 
composed of huge polygonal blocks of stone, which they left 
behind in various places, are the remnant of their walls and fortifi- 
cations. The Greeks looked back on these Pelasgian predecessors 
as different from themselves. Yet no reminiscences existed of 
any hostility towards them. It is plausibly conjectured that this 
prehistoric people were emigrants from the region of Phrygia at a 
more ancient date, and that the Hellenes, a more energetic and 
gifted branch of the same stock, followed them, and, without force 

7S 



GRFXIAN HISTORY. 79 

or conflict, became the founders and leaders of a new historic 
movement, in which tlie Pelasgians disappeared from view. In 
this second migration, the ancestors of the lonians went down 
from Phrygia to the coast of Asia Minor, and began the career 
which made them a maritime and commercial people. The Do- 
rians crossed over to the highlands of northern Greece, where 
they became hardy mountaineers, not addicted to the sea. The 
one tribe were to be eventually the founders oi Athens ; the other, 
of Sparta. Besides these two main tribes, the ^^olians occupied 
Thessaly, Baotia, ^tolia, and other districts. To them the 
Achceans, who were supreme in Peloponnesus in the days of 
Homer, were allied. 

Foreign Influences. — Besides Phrygia, the legends of the Greeks 
bear traces of a foreign influence from Phoenicia and Egypt. The 
Phoenicians were unquestionably early connected with the Greeks, 
first by commercial visits to Greek ports, to which they brought 
foreign merchandise. The story of Cad7)ius, who is said to have 
founded Thebes, and to have brought in the Phoenician alphabet, is 
fabulous. But it is probable, that, as early as the close of the ninth 
century B.C., the alphabet was introduced by Phoenicians, and dif- 
fused over Greece. Another legend is that of Cecrops, conceived 
of later as an Egyptian, who is said to have built a citadel at Ath- 
ens, and to have imported the seeds of civilization and religion. 
Danatis, another emigrant from Egypt, coming with his fifty 
daughters, is said to have built the citadel of Argos. In the later 
times, the Greeks were fond of tracing their knowledge of the 
arts to Egyptian sources. It is remarkable that the agents by 
whom germs of civilization were said to have been imported from 
abroad, though foreign, are nevertheless depicted as thoroughly 
Greek in their character. Whatever the Greeks may have owed to 
Egypt, it is probable was mainly derived from lonians who had 
previously planted themselves in that country. 

The Dorian Emigration. — It was in the prehistoric time that 
the Dorians left their homes in northern Greece, and migrated into 
Peloponnesus, where they proved themselves stronger than the 
lonians and the Achseans dwelling there. They left the Achaeans 
on the south coast of the Corinthian Gulf, in the district called 
Achaia. Nor did they conquer Arcadia. But of most of Pelopon- 
nesus they became masters. This is the portion of liistoric truth 
contained in the myth of the Return of the Heraclidce, the de- 
scendants of Hercules, to the old kingdom of their ancestor. 

Migrations to Asia Minor. — The Dorian conquest is said to 
have been the cause of three distinct migrations to Asia Minor. 
Tlie Achaeans, with their yEolic kinsmen on the north, established 
themselves on the north-west coast of Asia Minor, Lesbos and Cytne 
being their stronghokls, and by degrees got control in Mysia and 



80 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

the Troad. Ionic emigrants from Attica joined their brethren on 
the same coast. The Dorians settled on the south-west coast ; 
they also settled Cos and Rhodes, and at length subdued Crete. 
The Dorian conquest of Peloponnesus, and the migrations just 
spoken of, were slow in their progress, and possibly stretched over 
centuries. 

Character of the Greeks. — Originality is a distinguishing trait 
of the Greeks. Whatever they borrowed from others they made 
their own, and reproduced in a form peculiar to themselves. They 
were never servile copyists. All the products of the Greek mind, 
whether in government, art, literature, or in whatever province of 
human activity, wear a peculiar stamp. When we leave Asiatic 
ground, and come into contact with the Greeks, we find ourselves 
in another atmosphere. A spirit of humanity, in the broad sense 
of the term, pervades their life. A regard for reason, a sense of 
order, a disposition to keep every thing within measure, is a marked 
characteristic. Their sense of form — including a perception of 
beauty, and of harmony and proportion — made them in politics 
and letters the leaders of mankind. " Do nothing in excess," was 
their favorite maxim. They hated every thing that was out of 
proportion. Their language, without a rival in flexibility and sym- 
metry and in perfection of sound, is itself, though a spontaneous 
creation, a work of art. " The whole language resembles the body 
of an artistically trained athlete, in which every muscle, every 
sinew, is developed into full play, where there is no trace of tumid- 
ity or of inert matter, and all is power and life." The great variety 
of the spiritual gifts of this people, the severest formulas of science, 
the loftiest flights of imagination, the keenest play of wit and 
humor, were capable of precise and effective expression in this 
language "as in ductile play." The use of the language, so lucid 
and so nice in its discriminations, was itself an education for the 
young who grew up to hear it and to speak it. In a genial yet 
invigorating climate, in a land where breezes from the mountain 
and the sea were mingled, the versatile Greeks produced by phys- 
ical training that vigor and grace of body which they so much 
admired ; and they developed the civil polity, the artistic discern- 
ment, and the complex social life, which made them the principal 
source of modern culture. Their moral traits are not so admirable. 
As a race they were less truthful, and less marked for their courage 
and loyalty, than some other peoples below them in intellect. 

Religion. — In the early days, when Greece was open to foreign 
influences, the simple religion of the Aryan fathers was enlarged by 
new elements from abroad. The Tyrian deity, Melkart, appears at 
Corinth as Melicertes. Astarte becomes Aplwodite (Venus), who 
springs from the sea. The myth of Dioixysus and the worship of 
Devicter (Ceres) may be of foreign origin. Poseidon (Neptune), 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 8 1 

the god of the sea, and Apollo, the god of hght and of heaUng, 
whose worship carried in it cheer and comfort, though they were 
brought into Greece, were previously known to the lonians. By 
Homer and Hcsiod, the great poets of the prehistoric age, the 
gods in these successive dynasties, their offices and mutual rela- 
tions, were depicted. In Hesiod they stand in a connected 
scheme or theogony. 

I. There are the twelve great gods and goddesses of Olympus, who were named by the 
Greeks, — Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Ares, Hep'iKstos, Hermes, Here, Athene, Artemis, Aphrodite, 
Hestia, Demeter. 2. Numerous other divinities, not included among the Olympic, but some 
not less important than the twelve. Such are Hades, Helios, Dionysus, the Charites, the 
Muses, the Nereids, the Nymphs, etc. 3. Deities who perform special service to the greater 
gods, — Iris, Hebe, the Horse, etc. 4. Deities whose personality is less distinct, — Ate, Eris, 
Thanatos, Hypnos, etc. 5. Monsters, progeny of the gods, — the Harpies, the Gorgons, Pega- 
sus, Chimajra, Cerberus, Scylla and Charybdis, the Centaurs, the Sphinx. Below the gods 
are the demigods or heroes. 

Legends of Heroes. — The space which precedes the beginning 
of authentic records, the Greeks filled up with mythical tales, in 
which gods and heroes are the central figures. The heroes are 
partly of divine parentage. They are in near intercourse with the 
deities. Their deeds are superhuman, and embody those ideals of 
character and of achievement which the early Greeks cherished. 
The production of a lively imagination, before the dawn of the critical 
faculty or the growth of reflection, these tales may yet include a 
nucleus of historical incident or vague reminiscences of historical re- 
lations and changes. To attempt to extract these from the fictitious 
form in which they are embodied, is for the most part hopeless. 

The exploits of Heracles (Hercules) have a prominent place in the legends. 
This hero of Argos submitted to serve a cruel tyrant, but, by prodigious 
labors (twelve in number), delivered men from dangerous beasts, — the Ler- 
nasan hydra, the Nemean lion, etc., — and performed other miraculous services. 
Theseus, the national hero of Attica, cleared the roads of savage robbers, 
and delivered his country from bondage. Minos, the mythical legislator of 
Crete, cleared the sea of pirates, and founded a maritime state. Of the 
legendary stories, three of the most famous are The Seven against Thebes, 
The Argo7iaiitic Expedition, 2i\\di The Trojan War. i. Zfl/^/j, king of Thebes, 
was told by an oracle that he should be killed by his son. He e.xposed him, 
therefore, as soon as he was born, on Mount Cith^eron. Saved by a herds- 
man, CEdipns was brought up by Polybus, king of Corinth, as his own son. 
Warned by the oracle that he should kill his father, and marry his mother, 
the son forsook Corinth, and made his abode at Thebes. Meeting Laius in 
a narrow pass, and provoked by his attendants, he slew them and him. At 
Thebes there was a female monster, the Sphinx, who propounded a riddle, 
and each day devoured a man until it should be solved. CEdipns won the 
prize which the Queen Jocaste had offered; namely, the crown and her own 
hand to whomsoever should free the city. When his two sons and daughters 
had grown up, a pestilence broke out ; and the oracle demanded that the 
murderer of Laius should be banished. CEdipus, in spite of the warnings 
of the blind priest, Tircsias, finds out the truth. He puts out his eyes, and 
is driven into exile by his sons, whom he curses. Under the guidance of his 
daughter Antigone, he finds a resting-place at Colonns, a suburb of Athens, in 
a grove of ths Ennienides, whose function it was to avenge such crimes as his. 
He received expiation at the hands of Theseus, and died in a calm and peace- 
ful way. This legend was the basis of some of the finest of the Greek dramas, 



82 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

"CEdipus Tyrannus," and the "CEdipus at Colonus" of Sophocles^ and "The 
Seven against Thebes " of Aischyliis. The curse of CEdipus still rested on 
his sons. The story of Antigone, defying the tyrant Creon, and burying her 
slain brother, Polynices, is the foundation of the drama of Sophocles, bearing 
her name. Finally, the Epigoni, descendants of the Seven who had fought 
Thebes, captured and destroyed that city. 

2. The Atgonazits were described as a band of heroes, who, through peril- 
ous and unknown seas, sailed from lolcos in Thessaly, in the ship " Argo," 
to Colchis, whence they brought away the golden fleece which had been 
stolen, and which they found nailed to an oak, and guarded by a sleepless 
dragon, yasoti, the leader, was accompanied on his return by the enchant- 
ress, Medea, who had aided him. She, in order to delay their pursuers, 
killed her brother Absyrtus, and threw his body, piece by piece, into the sea. 
Her subsequent story involves various other tragic events. 

3. The most noted of the legends is the story of the Trojan war. The 
deeds of the heroes of this war are the subject of the Iliad. Paris, son 
of Priam, king of Ilios (Troy), in Asia Minor, carried off Helen, the wife of 
Metielaus, king of Sparta. To recover her, the Greeks united in an expedi- 
tion against Troy, which they took after a siege of ten years. Agamemnon, 
Achilles, Odysseus (Ulysses), Ajax son of Telamon, and Ajax son of Oileus, 
Diomedes, and Nestor were among the chiefs on the Greek side. Troy had 
its allies. The " Odyssey " relates to the long journey of Odysseus on his 
return to Ithaca, his home. That there was an ancient city, Troy, is certain. 
A conflict between the Greeks and a kindred people there, is probable. Not 
unlikely, there was a military expedition of Grecian tribes. Every thing 
beyond this is either plainly myth, or incapable of verification. 

Unions of Tribes. — During the period when the Greek popu- 
lation was dispersing itself in the districts which its different frac- 
tions occupied in the historic ages, there arose unions among tribes 
near one another, for religious purposes. They preceded treaties 
and alliances of the ordinary kind. Such tribes agreed to celebrate, 
in common, certain solemn festivals. Deputies of these tribes met 
at stated intervals to look after the temple and the lands pertaining 
to it. Out of these unions, there grew stipulations relative to the 
mode of conducting war and other matters of common interest. 
Treaties of peace and of mutual defense might follow. Thus 
arose combinations of states, in which one state, the strongest, 
would have the hegemony, or lead. This became an established 
characteristic of Greek political life. It was a system of federal 
unions under the headship of the most powerful member of the 
confederacy. When such a union was formed, it established a 
common worship or festival. 

The Delphic Amphictyony. — In the north of Greece, there 
was formed, in early times, a great religious union. It was com- 
posed of twelve tribes banded together for the worship of Apollo 
at Delphi, and to guard his temple. It was called the Delphic 
Amphictyony, or " League of Neighbors." The members of this 
body agreed not to destroy one another's towns in war, and not to 
cut off running water from a town which they were besieging. 

The Delphic Oracle. — The sanctuary at Delphi, where the 
Amphictyonic Council met, became the most famous temple in 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 83 

Greece. Here the oracle of Apollo gave answers to those who 
came to consult that divinity. The priests who managed the tem- 
ple kept themselves well informed in regard to occurrences in dis- 
tant places. Their answers were often discreet and wholesome, 
but not unfrequendy obscure and ambiguous, and thus misleading. 
In early times their moral influence in the nation promoted justice 
and fraternal feeling. In later times they lost their reputation for 
honesty and impartiality. In civil wars the priests were some- 
dmes bribed to support one of the contending parties. 

The Homeric Poems. — Within the last century, there has been 
much discussion about the authorship of the two poems, the Iliad 
and the Odyssey. The place where they were composed, whether 
among the lonians in Greece proper or in Asia Minor, is still a 
matter of debate. It was probably Asia Minor. Seven places 
contended for the honor of having given birth to the blind bard. 
But nothing is known of Homer's birthplace or history. It is 
doubtful whether the art of writing was much, if at all, in use 
among the Greeks at the time of the composition of the Ihad and 
Odyssey. We know that the custom existed of repeating poems 
orally by minstrels or rhapsodists at popular festivals. This may 
have been the mode in which for a time the Homeric poems were 
preserved and transmitted. The Odyssey has more unity than the 
Iliad, and seems to be of a somewhat later date. The nucleus of 
the Iliad is thought by some scholars to be embedded in the group 
of poems which, it is supposed, constitute the work at present ; 
but there is no evidence making it possible to identify any portion 
as the work of Homer. Whatever may be the truth on these ques- 
tions, the Iliad and Odyssey present an invaluable picture of Greek 
life in the period when they were composed, which was probably 
as early as 900 B.C. 

Social Life in the Homeric Age. — (i) Government. In the 
Homeric portraiture of Greek life, there are towns \ but the tribe 
is predominant over the town. The tribe is ruled by a king, who 
is not like an Eastern despot, but has about him a council of 
chiefs, and is bound by the ihemistes, the traditional customs. 
There is, besides, the agora, or popular assembly, where debates 
take place among the chiefs, and to which their decisions, or rather 
the decision of the king, on whom it devolves finally to deter- 
mine every thing, are communicated. Public speaking, it is seen, 
is practiced in the infancy of Greek society. (2) Customs. People 
live in hill-villages, surrounded by walls. Life is patriarchal, and, 
as regards the domestic circle, humane. Polygamy, the plague of 
Oriental society, does not exist. Women are held in high regard. 
Slavery is everywhere established. Side by side with piracy and 
constant war, and the supreme honor given to military prowess, 
there is a fine and bountiful hospitality which is held to be a reli- 



84 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

gious duty. In the Homeric poems, there is often exhibited a 
noble refinement of thought and sentiment, and a gentle courtesy. 
(3) Arts and Industry. In war, the chariot is the engine: cav- 
alry are unknown. The useful arts are in a rudimental stage. 
Spinning and weaving are the constant occupation of women. 
All garments are made at home : noble women join with their 
slaves in washing them in the river. The condition of the common 
freeman who took one temporary job after another, was miserable. 
Of the condition of those who pursued special occupations, — as 
the carpenter, the leather-dresser, the fisherman, etc., — we have no 
adequate information. The principal metals were in use, and the 
art of forging them. There was no coined money : payment was 
made in oxen. But there is hereditary individual property in land, 
cultivated vineyards, temples of the gods, and splendid palaces of 
the chiefs. (4) Geographical Knowledge. In Homer, there is a 
knowledge of Greece, of the neighboring islands, and western Asia 
Minor. References to other lands are vague. The earth is a sort 
of flat oval, with the River Oceanus flowing round it. Hesiod is 
better informed about places : he knows something of the Nile 
and of the Scythians, and of some places as far west as Syracuse. 

Religion in the Homeric Age. — The Homeric poems give us a full 
idea of the early religious ideas and practices, (i) The Nature of the 
Gods. — The gods in Homer are human beings with greatly magnified powers. 
Their dwelling is in the sky above us : their special abode is Mount Olym- 
pus. They experience hunger, but feed on ambrosia and nectar. They 
travel with miraculous speed. Their prime blessing is exemption from 
mortality. Among themselves they are often discordant and deceitful. {2) 
Relation of the Gods to Men. They are the rulers and guides of nations. 
Though they act often from mere caprice or favoritism, their sway is, on the 
whole, promotive of justice. Zeus is supreme : none can contend with him 
successfully. The gods hold communication with men. They also make 
known their will and intentions by signs and portents, — such as thunder and 
lightning, or the sudden passing of a great bird of prey. They teach men 
through dreams. (3) Service of the Gods. Sacrifice and supplication are the 
chief forms of devotion. There is no dominant hierarchy. The temple has 
its priest, but the father is priest in his own household. (4) Alorals and 
Religion. Morality is interwoven with religion. Above, all, ^«/'/^.r are sacred, 
and oath-breakers abhorred by gods as well as by men. In the conduct of 
the divinities, there are found abundant examples of unbridled anger and 
savage retaliation. Yet gentle sentiments, counsels to forbearance and 
mercy, are not wanting. The wrath of the gods is most provoked by lawless 
self-assertion and insolence. (5) Propitiation : the Dead. The sense of sin 
leads to the appeasing of the deities by offerings, attended with prayer. The 
offerings are gifts to the god, tokens of the honor due to him. The dead live 
as flitting shadows in Hades. Achilles is made to say that he would rather 
be a miserable laborer on earth than to reign over all the dead in the abodes 
below. 

Greek Literature. — The chief types, both of poetry and of 
prose, originated with the Greeks. Their writings are the foun- 
tain-head of the literature of Europe. They prized simplicity : 
they always had an intense disrelish for obscurity and bombast. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 85 

The earliest poetry of the Greeks consisted of hyvius to the gods. 
It was lyrical, an outpouring of personal feeling. The lyrical type 
was followed by the epic, where heroic deeds, or other events of 
thrilling interest, are the theme of song, and the personal emotion 
of the bard is out of sight through his absorption in the subject. 
Description flows on, the narrator himself being in the background. 
This epic poetry culminates in the Iliad and Odyssey (900-700 
B.C.). Their verse is the hexameter. These poems move on in 
a swift current, yet without abruptness or monotony. They are 
marked by a simplicity and a nobleness, a refinement and a pathos, 
which have charmed all subsequent ages. Homer, far more than 
any other author, was the educator of the Greeks. There was a 
class called HomeridcB, in Chios ; but whether they were them- 
selves poets, or reciters of Homer, or what else may have been 
their peculiar work, is not ascertained. There was, however, a 
class of Cyclic poets, who took up the legends of Troy, and 
carried out farther the Homeric tales. Hcsiod was the founder 
of a more didactic sort of poetry. He is about a century later 
than the Iliad. Besides the Theogony, which treats of the origin 
of the gods and of nature, his Works and Days relates to the 
works which a farmer has to do, and the lucky or unlucky days for 
doing them. It contains doctrines and precepts relative to agri- 
culture, navigation, civil and family life. Hesiod was the first of a 
Boeotian school of poets. He lacks the poetic genius of Homer, 
and the vivacity and cheerfulness which pervade the Iliad and the 
Odyssey. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE FORMATION OF THE PRINGIPAIi STATES. 

Aristocratic Government. — The early kings were obeyed as 
much for their personal qualities, such as valor and strength of 
body, as for their hereditary title. By degrees the noble families 
about the king took control, and the kingship thus gave way to 
the rule of an aristocracy. The priestly office, which required 
special knowledge, remained in particular families, as the Eiimol- 
pidte at Athens, — families to whom was ascribed the gift of 
the seer, and to whom were known the Eleiisinian mysteries. 
The nobles were landholders, with dependent farmers who paid 
rent. The nobles held sway over tillers of the soil, artisans and 
seamen, who constituted the people (the "demos"), and who had 
no share in political power. This state of things continued until 
the lower class gained more property and more knowledge ; and 
the example of the colonial settlements, where there was greater 



S6 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

equality, re-acted on the parent state. The struggle of the lower 
ranks for freedom was of long continuance. In all Greek cities, 
there were Metceci, or resident foreigners without political rights, 
and also slaves from abroad. Free-born Greeks busied them- 
selves with occupations connected with the fine arts, or with trade 
and commerce on an extended scale. They commonly eschewed 
all other employments, and especially menial labor. 

The Constitution of Lycurgus. — According to the legend, 
disorders in Sparta following the Dorian conquest, and strife be- 
tween the victors and the conquered, moved Lycurgus, a man of 
regal descent, to retire to Crete, where the old Dorian customs were 
still observed. On his return he gave to the citizens a constitution, 
which was held in reverence by the generations after him. . To him, 
also, laws and customs which were really of later date, came to be 
ascribed. The Spartan population consisted ( i ) of the Spartiatce, 
who had full rights, and those of less means, — both comprising the 
Dorian conquerors. They were divided into three Phylcz, or tribes, 
each composed of ten divisions ( Obce) ; ( 2 ) the Perioeci, Achgeans 
who paid tribute on the land which they held, were bound to mili- 
tary service, but had no political rights ; (3) the Helots, serfs of the 
State, who were divided among the Spartiatse by lot, and cultivated 
their lands, paying to them a certain fraction' of the harvest. The 
form of government established by Lycurgus was an aristocratic 
republic. The Council of Elders, twenty-eight in number, chosen 
for life by the Phylse, were presided over by two hereditary kings, 
who had little power in time of peace, but unhmited command 
of the forces in war. The popular assembly, composed of all 
Spartiatse of thirty years of age or upwards, could only decide 
questions without debate. Five Ephors, chosen yearly by the 
Phylse, acquired more and more authority. Lycurgus is said to 
have divided the land into nine thousand equal lots for the fami- 
lies of the Spartiatse, and thirty thousand for the Perioeci. To 
keep down the helots required constant vigilance, and often occa- 
sioned measures of extreme cruelty. The Crypteia was an organ- 
ized guard of young Spartans, whose business it was to prevent 
insurrection. 

Laws and Customs. — The Spartan state was thus aristocratic 
and military. It took into its own hands the education of the 
young. Weak and deformed children were left to perish in a 
ravine of Taygetus, or thrust down among the Perioeci. Healthy 
children at the age of seven were taken from their homes, to be 
reared under the supervision of the State. They had some literary 
instruction, but their chief training was in gymnastics. They were 
exercised in hunting and in drills ; took their meals together in the 
syssitia (the public mess), where the fare was rough and scanty; 
slept in dormitories together ; and by every means were disciplined 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 87 

for a soldier's life. The Spartan men likewise fed at public tables, 
and slept in barracks, only making occasional visits to their own 
houses. No money was in circulation except iron : no one was 
permitted to possess gold or silver. Girls were separately drilled 
in gymnastic exercises, and made to be as hardy as boys. Mar- 
riage was regulated by the State. There was more purity, and 
women had a higher standing, in Sparta than in other parts of 
Greece. The strength of the Spartan army was in the hoplites, 
or heavy-armed infantry. In battle, messmates stood together. 
Cowardice was treated with the utmost contempt. The rigorous 
subordination of the young to their elders was maintained in war 
as in peace. The legend held, that after this constitution of Lycur- 
gus had been approved by the Delphian oracle, he made the citi- 
zens swear to observe it until he should return from a projected 
journey. He then went to Crete, and stayed there until his death. 

Hegemony of Sparta. — Having thus organized the body politic, 
Sparta took the steps which gave it the hegemony in Peloponnesus 
and over all Greece. First, it conquered the neighboring state of 
Messenia in two great wars, the first ending about 725 B.C., and 
the second about 650 B.C. In the first of these wars, the Mes- 
senians submitted to become tributary to Sparta, after their citadel, 
Ithome, had been captured, and their defeated hero, Aristodemus, 
had slain himself. Many of the vanquished Messenians escaped 
from their country to Arcadia and Argolis. Some of them fled 
farther, and founded Rhegium in Lower Italy. In the second war, 
the Messenians revolted against the tyrannical rule of Sparta, and 
at first, under Aiistomenes, were successful, but were afterwards 
defeated by the Spartans, who were inspirited for the conflict by 
the war-songs of the Athenian poet, TyrtcBus. Aj'istomenes fled to 
Rhodes. Most of his people were made helots. The Arcadians, 
after long resistance, succumbed, and came under the Spartan 
hegemony (about 600 B.C.). Atgcs, too, was obliged to renounce 
its claim to this position in favor of its Spartan antagonist, after its 
defeat by Cleomenes,i\iQ Lacedaemonian king, at Thyrea (549 B.C.). 
The Argive League was dissolved, and Sparta gained the right to 
command in every war that should be waged in common by the 
Peloponnesian states, the right, also, to determine the contingent 
of troops which each should furnish, and to preside in the council 
of the confederacy. She now began to spread her power beyond 
Peloponnesus, entered into negotiations with Lydia (555 B.C.), 
and actually sent an expedition to the coast of Asia (525 B.C.). 
Moreover as early as 510 B.C., by interfering in the affairs of the 
states north of the Corinthian isthmus, and with Attica in particular, 
she sowed among the Athenians the seeds of a lasting enmity. 

Government in Athens : Draco. — According to the legend, 
Codrus, who died about 1068 B.C., was the last of the Athenian 



88 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

kings. The Eupatrids, the noble families, abolished monarchy, 
and substituted for the king an Archon, chosen for life by them 
out of the family of Codrus. The Eupatrids stood in a sort of 
patriarchal relation to the common people. The inhabitants were 
divided into four tribes. These were subdivided, first into Brother- 
hoods and Claris, and secondly, into classes based on consan- 
guinity, and classes arranged for taxation, military service, etc. 
The entire community comprised the Nobles, — in whose hands the 
political power was lodged, — the Farmers, and the Artisans. The 
farmers and the artisans might gather in the Agora, and express 
assent to public measures, or dissent. In process of time the 
archons came to be chosen not from the family of Codrus ex- 
clusively, but from the Eupatrids generally. From 682 B.C. they 
were nine in number, and they served but for one year. The 
administration of justice was in the hands of the nobles, who were 
not restrained by a body of written laws. The archon Draco, 
about 621 B.C., in order to check this evil, framed a code which 
seemed harsh, though milder than the laws previously enforced. 
Later it was said of his laws that they were written in blood. This 
legislation was a concession to which the nobles were driven by an 
uprising. Their hard treatment of debtors, many of whom were 
deprived of their liberty, had stirred up a serious conflict between 
the people and their masters. A rebellion, led by Cylon, one of 
the Eupatrids, was put down, and punished by means involving 
treachery and sacrilege. The insurgents were slain clinging to 
the altars of the gods, where they had taken refuge. Not long 
after it became necessary to introduce other reforms at the advice 
of Solon, one of " the seven wise men of Greece." He had ac- 
quired popularity by recovering Salamis from the Megarians, and 
in a sacred war against towns which had robbed the temple of 
Apollo at Delphi. 

Legislation of Solon. — The design of Solon was to substitute 
a better system for the tyrannical oligarchy, but, at the same 
time, to keep power mainly in the hands of the upper class. He 
divided the people into four classes, according to the amount of 
their income. To the richest of these the archonship, and ad- 
mission into the Areopagus, were confined. A new council was 
established, which had the right to initiate legislation, composed of 
one hundred from each of the four old tribes, and annually elected 
by the body of the citizens. The Ecclesia, or assembly of the whole 
people, having the right to choose the archons and councilors, 
was revived. Courts of Appeal, with jury trials, were instituted. 
The old council of the Areopagus was clothed with high judicial 
and executive powers. There were laws to relieve a portion of the 
debtors from their burdens, and to abolish servitude for debt. 
Every father was required to teach his son a handicraft. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 89 

Parties in Athens. — The legislation of Solon was a measure of 
compromise. It satisfied neither party. After journeys abroad, 
he passed his old age in Athens, and was a spectator of the rising 
contests between the discordant factions, which his constitution 
was only able for a time to curb. There were three parties, — a 
re-actionary party under Lycurgus, a progressive party led by Pisis- 
tratus, and a moderate or middle party under Mcgacles. 

The Tyrants. — At this time, in almost all of the Grecian states, 
monarchy had given place to aristocracy. The reign of an oli- 
garchy, the unbridled sway of a few, was commonly the next step. 
Against this the people in different states, — the demos, — rose in re- 
volt. The popular leader, or " demagogue," was some conspicuous 
and wealthy noble, who thus acquired supreme authority. In this 
way, in the seventh and sixth centuries, most of the states were 
ruled by " tyrants," — a term signifying absolute rulers, whether 
their administration was unjust and cruel, or fair and mild. They 
endeavored to fortify their rule by collecting poets, artists, and 
musicians about them, for their own pleasure and for the diversion 
of the populace. Occasionally they gave the people employment 
in the erection of costly buildings. They formed alliances with 
one another and with foreign kings. Not unfrequently they prac- 
ticed violence and extortion. The oligarchies sought to dethrone 
them. Their overthrow often had for its result the introduction 
of popular sovereignty. Among the most noted tyrants were Feri- 
ander of Corinth (625-585 B.C.), Pittacus in Lesbos (589-579 
B.C.), and Polycrates in Samos (535-522 B.C.). 

The Pisistratids. — The government of Athens, framed by Solon, 
was in effect a " timocracy," or rule of the rich. At the head of 
the popular party stood Pisistratus, a rich nobleman of high de- 
scent. He succeeded, by means of his armed guard, in making 
himself master of the citadel. Twice driven out of the city, he 
at length returned (538 B.C.), and gained permanent control by 
force of arms. He managed his government with shrewdness and 
energy. Industry and trade flourished. He decorated Athens 
with buildings and statues. Religious festivals he caused to be 
celebrated with splendor. He ruled under the legal forms by 
having archons chosen to suit him. He died 527 B.C. Hippias, 
his son, governed with mildness until his younger brother and 
colleague in power, Hipparchiis, was slain by the two friends, 
Harmodius and Aristogiton. Then he gave the rein to revenge- 
ful passion, and laid upon the people burdensome taxes. Hippias 
was driven out of the city by the Alcmdoiiidce and other exiled 
nobles, assisted by the Spartan king, Cleomenes (510 B.C.). He 
fled to Asia Minor in order to secure Persian help. 

The Athenian Democracy. — Clistlicncs, a brilliant man, the 
head of the Alcmceonid family, connected himself with the popular 



90 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

party, and introduced such changes in the constitution as to render 
him the founder of the Athenian Democracy. The power of the 
archons was reduced. All of the free inhabitants of Attica were 
admitted to citizenship. New tribes, ten in number, each com- 
prising ten denies, or hamlets, with their adjacent districts, super- 
seded the old tribes. A council of five hundred, fifty from each 
tribe, supplanted Solon's council of four hundred. The courts 
of law were newly organized. The Ostracism was introduced ; 
that is, the prerogative of the popular assembly to decree by secret 
ballot, without trial, the banishment of a person who should be 
deemed to be dangerous to the public weal. Certain oflicers were 
designated by lot. Ten Strategi, one from each tribe, by turns, 
took the place of the archon polemarchus in command of the 
army. 

Effect of Democracy. — Under this system of free government, 
the energy of the Athenian people was developed with amazing 
rapidity. The spirit of patriotism, of zeal for the honor and wel- 
fare of Athens, rose to a high pitch. The power and resources 
of the city increased in a proportionate degree. Culture kept 
pace with prosperity. 

Lyrical Poetry. — In the eighth century, when monarchy was declining, 
and the tendency to democracy began to manifest itself, a new style of poetry, 
different from the epic, arose. The narrative poems of minstrels were heard 
at the great religious festivals. But there was a craving for the expression 
of individual feeling. Hence, lyrical poetry re-appeared, not in the shape of 
religious songs, as in the old time, but in a form to touch all the chords of 
sentiment. Two new types of verse appeared, — the Elegiac and the Iambic. 
At first the elegy was probably a lament for the dead. It was accompanied 
by the soft music of the Lydian flute. The instruments which the Greeks had 
used were string-instruments. The early Greek elegies related to a variety of 
themes, — as war, love, preceptive wisdom. The iambic meter was first used 
in satire. Its earliest master of distinction was Ai-chilockus of Paros (670 
B.C.). It was employed, however, in fables, and elsewhere when pointed or 
intense expression was craved. The earliest of the Greek elegists, Callinus 
and Tyrtcsus, composed war-songs. Mimnermiis, Solon, Theognis, Sinionides 
of Ceos, are among the most famous elegists. Music developed in connec- 
tion with lyric poetry. The Greeks at first used the four-stringed lyre. 
Terpander made an epoch (660 B.C.) by adding three strings. Olympics and 
Thaletas made further improvements. Greek lyric poetry flourished, espe- 
cially from 670 to 440 B.C. The ^olian lyrists of Lesbos founded a school 
of their own. The two great representatives are Alcmis, who sang of war 
and of love, and Sappho, who sang of love. " Probably no poet ever surpassed 
Sappho as an interpreter of passion in exquisitely subtle harmonies of form 
and sound." Anacreon, an Ionian, resembled in his style the ^olian lyrists. 
He was most often referred to by the ancients as the jjoet of sensuous feeling 
of every sort. The Dorian lyric poetry was mostly choral and historic in its 
topics. Greek lyric poetry reaches the climax in Simonides and Pindar. 
The latter was a Boeotian, but of Dorian descent. Sitnoiiides was tender 
and polished ; Pindar, fervid and sublime The extant works of Pindar are 
the Epinicia, or odes of victory. 

Historical Writing. — This age witnesses the beginnings of historical 
writing. But the logographers, as they were called, only wrote prose epics. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 91 

They told the story of the foundation of families and cities, reconciling as 
best they could the myths, so far as they clashed with one another. 

Philosophy: the Ionian School. — The Greeks were the first to 
investigate rationally the causes of things, and to try to comprehend the 
world as a complete system. The earliest phase of this movement was on 
the side of physics, or natural philosophy. Ho7)ier ■z.wA Hesiod had accounted 
for the operations of nature by referring them to the direct personal action 
of different divinities. The earliest philosophers brought in the conception 
of some kind of matter as the foundation and source of all things. The Ionian 
School led the way in this direction. Thales of Miletus (about 600 B.C.) made 
this primary substance to be water. Anaximander (61 1-? B.C.) made all 
things spring out of a primitive stuff, without definite qualities, and without 
bounds. He taught that the earth is round, invented the sun-dial, engraved 
a map on a brass tablet, and made some astronomical calculations. Anax- 
imenes (first half, 6th C.) derived all things from air, which he made to be 
eternal and infinite. 

The Eleatic School. — The Eleatic School conceived of the world as 
one in substance, and held that the natural phenomena which we behold, in 
all their variety and change, are unreal. Xeitophanes (who flourished from 
572 to 47S B.C.) asserted this. Parmeiiides (504-460 B.C.) taught that succes- 
sion, change, the manifold forms of things, are only relative ; that is, are only 
our way of regarding the one universal essence. Zeiio sought to vindicate 
this theory logically by 'disproving the possibility of motion. 

Other Philosophers. — Another set of philosophers attempted definitely 
to explain the appearances of things, the changing phenomena, which had 
been called unreal. Heraclitus made the world to be nothing but these: 
There is no substratum of things: there is only an endless flux, a cycle. All 
things begin and end in fire, the symbol of what is real. Empedocles ascribed 
all things to fire, air, earth, and water, which are wrought into different bodies 
by "love" and "hate;" or, as we should say, attraction and repulsion. 
Democritus was the founder of the Atovtists, who made all things spring out 
of the motions and combinations of primitive atoms. Aiiaxagoras brought 
in intelligence, or reason, as giving the start to the development of matter, — 
this principle doing nothing more, however, and being inherent in matter itself. 

Pythagoras. — A different spirit in philosophy belonged to Pythagoras 
(580-500 B.C.), who was born in .Samos, traveled extensively, and settled in 
Croton, in southern Italy. His theory was, that the inner substance of all 
things is number. Discipline of character was a prime object. Pythagoras 
was sparing in his diet, promoted an earnest culture, in which music was 
prominent, and gave rise to a mystical school, in which moral reform and 
religious f;eling were connected with an ascetic method of living. 

Colonies. — It was during the era of the oligarchies and tyrannies that 
the colonizing spirit was most active among the Greeks. Most of the colo- 
nies were established between 800 and 550 B.C. Their names alone would 
make a very long catalogue. They were of two classes: first, independent 
communities, connected, however, with the parent city by close ties of friend- 
ship ; and secondly, klertuhies, which were of the nature of garrisons, where 
the settlers retained their former rights as citizens, and the mother city its 
full authority over them. In Sicily, on the eastern side, were the Ionian 
communities, — Naxos, Catana, etc. Syracuse (founded by Corinth 734 B.C.), 
Gela, and Agrigentii7n,'w\\\c\\ were among the chief Dorian settlements, lay on 
the south-eastern and south-western coasts. The oldest Greek town in Italy 
was Ciinitc (not far from Naples), said to have been founded in 1050 B.C. 
Tarentum (Dorian), Sybaris, and Croton (ALoWc) were settled in the latter part 
of the eighth century. Locri (/Eolic) and Rliegium (Ionic) were on the south. 
The south-western portion of Italy was termed Magna Gr(ccia. Massilia 
(Marseilles) was founded by the Phocasan lonians (about 600 B.C.). In the 
western Mediterranean the Greeks were hindered from making their settle- 



92 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

ments as numerous as they would have done, by the fact that Carthage and 
her colonies stood in the way. Cyre7ie, on the coast of Africa, was a Dorian 
colony (630 B.C.), planted from Thera, an earlier Spartan settlement. Cyrene 
founded Barca. Corcyra was colonized by Corinth (about 700 B.C.). Along 
the coast of Epirus were other Corinthian and Corcyraean settlements. 
Chalcis planted towns in the peninsula of Chalcidice, and from thence to 
Selymbria (or Byzantium), which was founded by Megara (657 B.C.). The 
northern shores of the ^gean and the Propontis, and the whole coast of the 
Euxine were strewn with Greek settlements. The Greek towns, especially 
Miletus, on the western coast of Asia Minor, themselves sent out colonies, — 
as Cyziacs and Shiope, south of the Propontis and the Euxine. The foregoing 
statements give only a general idea of the wide extent of Greek colonization. 

An exhaustive statement of the Greek colonies is given in Rawlinson's Manual of A ticient 
History, p. 148 seq. See also Abbott, A History oj Greece, 1. 333 seq. 



Period II. 
THE FLOURISHING ERA OF GREECE. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE PERSIAN WARS. 

The Ionian Revolt. — Hardly were the Greeks in possession 
of liberty when they were compelled to measure their strength with 
the mighty Persian Empire. The cities of Asia Minor groaned 
under the tyranny of their Persian rulers, and sighed for freedom. 
At length, under propitious circumstances, Miletus rose in revolt 
under the lead of Aristagoras. Alone of tlie Grecian cities, 
Athens, and Eretria on the island of Euboea, sent help. The 
insurrection was extinguished in blood : its leaders perished. 
Miletus was destroyed by the enemy 495 B.C. ; and the Ionian 
towns were again brought under the Persian yoke, which was made 
heavier than before. The Persian monarch, Darius, swore ven- 
geance upon those who had aided the rebellion. 

The Battle of Marathon. — Mardonius, the son-in-law of Darius, 
moved with a fleet and an army along the ^^gean coast. A storm 
shattered the fleet upon the rocky promontory of Athos, and the 
land force was partly destroyed by the Thracians. Mardonius 
retreated homeward. The heralds who came to demand, accord- 
ing to the Persian custom, " water and earth " of Athens and 
Sparta, were put to death. Enraged at these events, Darius sent 
a stronger fleet under Datis and Artaphernes. They forced Naxos 
and the other Cycladcs to submission, captured and destroyed 
Eretria, and sent off its inhabitants as slaves to the interior of 
Asia. Guided on their path of destruction by the Athenian 
refugee, Hippias, the Persians landed on the coast of Attica, and 
encamped on the shore adjacent to the plain of Marathon. The 
Athenians sent PJiilippides, one of the swiftest of couriers, to Sparta 
for assistance, who reached that city, a hundred and thirty-five or 
a hundred and forty miles distant, the next day after he started. 
He brought back for answer that the Spartans were deterred by 
religious scruples from marching to war before the full moon, 
which would be ten days later. There was a Greek, as well as a 
Judaic, Pharisaism. Left to themselves, the Athenians were fortu- 

93 



94 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

nate in having for their leader Miltiades, an able and experienced 
soldier, who had been with the Persians in the Scythian campaign. 
At the head of the Athenian infantry, ten thousand in number, 
whose hearts were cheered before the onset by the arrival of a 
re-inforcement of one thousand men, comprising the whole fight- 
ing population of the little town of Platcea, Miltiades attacked the 
Persian army, ten times as large as his own. The Athenians ran 
down the gentle slope at Marathon, shouting their war-cry, or 
psean, and, after a fierce conflict, drove the Persians back to their 
ships, capturing their camp with all its treasures (Sept. 12, 490 
B.C.). This brilliant victory was not the end of danger. The 
Greek watchmen saw a treacherous signal, a glistening shield, on 
Mount Penteliciis, put there to signify to the Persians that Athens 
was open to their attack. In that direction, round Cape Sunium, 
the Persian fleet sailed. But Miltiades, by a rapid march of 
twenty-three miles, reached the city in season to prevent the land- 
ing. Datis and Artaphernes sailed away. The traitor, Hippias, 
died on the return voyage. The patriotic exultation of the Athe- 
nians was well warranted. Never did they look back upon that 
victory without a thrill of joyful pride. It proved what a united 
free people were capable of achieving. More than that, Marathon 
was one of the decisive battles which form turning-points in the 
world's history. It was a mortal conflict between the East and 
the West, between Asia and Europe, — the coarse despotism under 
which individual energy is stifled, and the dawning liberty which 
was to furnish the atmosphere required for the full development 
and culture of the human mind. 

Aristides and Themistocles. — Miltiades subsequently failed in 
an attempt against Pares, one of the ^gean islands which had sub- 
mitted to the Persians, and which he sought to conquer. Accused 
of making false promises to the people, he was fined fifty talents, 
but died before the sum could be collected (489 B.C.). His son 
Cimon paid the fine. The two leading men in Athens at that time 
were Aristides and Themistocles. The former, from his upright- 
ness, was styled " the just." Themistocles was a man of genius, of 
an ambitious spirit, whom the laurels of Miltiades robbed of sleep. 
Devoted to Athens, he was not scrupulous in regard to the means 
of advancing her prosperity and glory. Duplicity and intrigue 
were weapons in the use of which he was not less willing than ex- 
pert. He aspired to make Athens a great naval and maritime 
power. Aristides believed that the strength of the country lay in 
the landholders and in the land forces. In the attainment of 
public ends, he would not deviate from a straightforward course. 
Themistocles was by far the more captivating of the two men ; and, 
in 484 B.C., Aristides was ostracised. Themistocles was thus left 
free to build up a powerful fleet. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 95 

The War with Xerxes: Thermopylae. — • Darius died while he 
was preparing another grand expedition against Greece. He left 
his successor, Xerxes (485 B.C.), to complete and carry out the 
plan. This proud monarch drew together from his immense 
dominions an army which tradition, as given in Herodotus, made 
to number one million seven hundred thousand men and a fleet 
of twelve hundred large vessels. He had for a counselor, Dema- 
ratus, a fugitive king of Sparta. The vast array of troops was as- 
sembled near Sanies, and thence marched to the Hellespont. Seven 
days were spent by tliis mighty gathering of nations in passing over 
the two bridges of boats. They marched through Thrace, Mace- 
donia, and Thessaly, the Persian fleet proceeding along the coast. 
Boeotia and several smaller states yielded without resistance. The 
most of the other Greek states, inspired by Themistocles, joined 
hands for defense under the hegemony of Sparta. In July, 480, 
the Persian army arrived at the narrow pass of T/iermopylcs. I'here 
the Lacedaemonian king, Leonidas, with his three hundred Spar- 
tans and some thousands of allies, had taken his stand, to stem 
the vast current that was pouring down to overwhelm Greece. To 
the Persian command to give up their weapons, the " laconic " reply 
was given by Leonidas, " Come and get them." For several days 
the band of Spartans defended the pass, beating back the Persians, 
thousands of whom were slain, and repulsing, even, the ten thou- 
sand " immortals," who constituted the royal guard. At length 
a treacherous Greek showed the enemy a by-path, which enabled 
them to fall on the rear of the gallant troops, every one of 
whom fell, bravely fighting, with his weapon in his hand, A lion 
made of iron was afterwards placed on the spot where the heroes 
had died, " obedient to the commands of Sparta." The Persians 
pushed forward to Athens, and burned the city. All citizens capa- 
ble of bearing arms were on board the fleet : the women, children, 
and movable property had been conveyed to Salamis, ^gina, 
and Trxzene. 

S.4LA1MIS. — The Greek fleet, under the Spartan Eurybiades, had 
come from victory at Artemisium into the Gulf of Salamis. By 
means of a device of Themistocles, the Spartans were prevented 
from withdrawing their forces to the Corinthian isthmus, where they 
had built a wall for their own protection ; and a sea-fight was brought 
on, of which the Athenians in Salamis, and Xerxes himself from a 
hill on the mainland, were anxious spectators (Sept, 27, 480). 
Once more the cause of civilization was staked on the issue of a 
conflict. The Greeks were completely victorious, and their land 
was saved. Xerxes hastily marched towards home, thousands of 
his army perishing on the way from hunger, cold, and fatigue. The 
Spartiatee gave to Eurybiades the prize of valor, to Themistocles an 
olive crown for his wisdom and sagacity. 



96 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 



Plat^a: Mycale : Eurymedon. — Xerxes left three hundred 
thousand men behind in Thessaly, under the command of Mar- 
donius. In the spring, incensed at the proud rejection of his 
overtures, he marched to Athens, whose people again took refuge 
in Salamis. In the great battle oi Platcea (479 B.C.), the Greeks, 
led by the Spartan Faiisanias, inflicted on him such a defeat that 
only forty thousand Persians escaped to the Hellespont. On the 
same day at Mycale, the Persian fleet was vanquished in a sharp 
encounter where a Spartan commanded, but where the Athenians 
were the most efhcient combatants. Sestos, Lemnos, Imbros, and 
Byzantium were taken by the Greeks ; and a double victory of 
Cimon, the son of Miltiades, at the Pamphylian river, Eurymedon, 
over both the land and naval forces of the Persians, brought the 
war to an end (467 B.C.). 



CHAPTER II, 
THE ASCENDENCY OP ATHENS. 

Pausanias and Themistocles. — Both of the generals by whom 
the Persians had been overcome, fell under the displeasure of the 
states to which they belonged. Pausanias was so far misled by 
ambition as to engage in a negotiation with the Persians for the 
elevation of himself, by their aid, to supreme power in Greece. 
His plots were discovered, and he was compelled by his country- 
men to starve to death in a temple to which he had fled for 
refuge. Themistocles caused Athens to be surrounded by a wall, 
and built long walls from the city to the Pirceus. This provoked 
the hatred of the Spartans, so jealous were they of the power of 
Athens. In conjunction with his Athenian enemies, they contrived 
to procure his banishment for ten years (471 B.C.). Themistocles 
fled to Persia, where he was treated with honor and favor. Artax- 
erxes I. gave him a princely domain in Asia Minor where he died 
(458 B.C.) . Grave as his faults were, Themistocles was the founder 
of the historical greatness of Athens. 

Confederacy of Deles. — It was through the influence of Aris- 
tides that the confederacy of Delos was formed, in which the 
Grecian islands and seaports combined with Athens, and under 
her leadership, for the further prosecution of the war. By this 
means, the Athenians, already so efiicient on the sea, were enabled 
still more to strengthen their fleet, and gradually to bring the 
^gean islands and smaller maritime states under their sway, 
Cimon rendered great service as a naval commander. He drove 
the Persians out of Thrace altogether, and he conquered Scyros. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 97 

He wrested the Chersonese from the Persians, and freed the Greek 
cities on the coast. In the single battle on the Euryrnedon, he 
sunk or captured two hundred galleys (467 B.C.). 

To the Peace of Pericles. — Under the leadership of such men, 
the Athenian Republic became more and more powerful. /Egina, 
a rich and prosperous island, was conquered, and planted with 
Athenian colonists. Megara became a dependency of Athens. 
Sparta, partly in consequence of a struggle with Argos, a state 
friendly to the Persians, and still more on account of an earthquake 
which laid the most of the city in ruins (465 B.C.), was so crippled 
as not to be able to check the progress of the rival community. 
She was even obliged to invoke Athenian help against the revolting 
Messenians and helots ; but after the troops of Athens had joined 
them, the Spartans, jealous and afraid of what they might do, sent 
them back. This indignity led to the banishment of Cimon, who 
had favored the sending of tlie force, and to the granting of aid 
to the Spartans. The Spartans now did their best to reduce 
the strength and dominion of Athens by raismg Thebes to the 
hegemony over the Bceotian cities. Everywhere, in all the con- 
flicts, Sparta was the champion of the aristocratic form of govern- 
ment ; Athens, of the democratic. The Athenians were defeated 
at Tanagra (457 B.C.). This induced them to recall Cimon, 
a great general and a worthy citizen. Two months after her 
victory, Sparta was defeated by Myronides ; and the ^Athenians 
became masters of Phocis, Locris, and Boeotia. Cimon brought 
about a truce between Athens and Sparta. He left his country on 
a high pinnacle of power and dominion. Nearly all the allies in the 
confederacy of Delos had fallen into the position of tributaries, 
whose heavy cont'-ibutions were carried no longer to the sanctuary 
at Delos, but to the temple of Athena on the Acropolis, and 
who had no power to decide on questions of peace and war. The 
nobles, however, who were driven into exile in all conquered 
places, were the mortal enemies of Athens. At Coronea (447 
B.C.), the Boeotian refugees and aristocrats were so strong that 
the Athenians experienced a disastrous defeat. The peril of the 
situation moved Pcric/cs to secure, by astute management, a peace 
with Sparta, the terms of which were that each of the two cities 
was to maintain its hegemony within its own circle, and the several 
states were to attach themselves at their option to either con- 
federacy. In market and harbor, there was to be a free inter- 
course of trade (445 B.C.). 

The Age of Pericles. — Pericles belonged to one of the principal 
Athenian families, but was democratic in his politics, and made 
himself a popular leader. By his influence the Areopagus was 
stripped of high prerogatives that had belonged to it. He caused 
it to be enacted, that every citizen, when engaged in the public ser- 



g8 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

vice, even in attending the popular assembly, should receive a sti- 
pend. For fifteen years, as the first citizen of Athens, with none of 
the trappings of power, he virtually ruled the commonwealth. One 
of his works was the building the third of the /ong walls which 
protected the Firceus and the neighboring ports on the land side, 
and connected them with Athens. His patriotism was as sincere 
as his talents were versatile and brilliant. He was at once a soldier, 
an orator, a statesman of consummate ability, and a man imbued 
with the best appreciation of letters and of art. In his hospitable 
house, where Aspasia from Miletus, a beautiful and cultured woman, 
was his companion, men of genius found a welcome. Under him, 
Athens became the metropolis of literature, philosophy, and art 
for the whole Hellenic race, and, considering the influence of 
Athens, it might almost be said for mankind in all ages. Magnifi- 
cent buildmgs — of which the Parthenon, the temple of Athena 
that crowned the Acropolis, whose ruins are the model of archi- 
tectural perfection, was one — gave to the city an unrivaled beauty. 
Sculpture vied with architecture in this work of adornment. Phid- 
ias, who wrought the frieze of the Parthenon, counted among his 
wonderful creations the colossal sitting statue of Zeus at Olympia. 
It was the blossoming season of the Greek intellect, as regards 
literature and the fine arts. The drama reached its perfection in 
the masterly tragedies of ^schyhis, Sophocles, and Euripides, and 
in the comedies oi Aristophanes. The Athenian community, through 
its political eminence, its intellectual character, so original and 
diversified, its culture, — such that almost every citizen was quali- 
fied for civil office, — has no parallel in history. It is the eleva- 
tion, not of a select class of the citizens, but of the whole society, 
which gives to Athens its unique distinction. Public spirit and 
enterprise, which made her navy dominant in the ^gean and 
over the sea-coast of Asia Minor, went hand in hand with delight 
in eloquence and in the creations of genius. There was not, how- 
ever, as some have affirmed, in the prevalent absorption in the 
affairs of state, a neglect of the labors of agriculture and of me- 
chanical industry. 

The Acropolis. — It was customary for a Greek town to be built about 
an acropolis, — an eminence by which it was commanded, and on which 
stood the citadel. On the acropolis at Athens were the buildings and statues 
in which the glory of Athenian art was impressively displayed. There were 
three edifices which excelled all the rest in splendor. On the south side of the 
elevated area was the Partke/ton, built of Pentelic marble, two hundred and 
twenty-eight feet in length, and of faultless proportions. On the northern edge 
was the Erechtheiim, an Ionic temple of extraordinary beauty. _ The Propylaa, 
approached by sixty marble steps, was a noble gateway: it stood on the 
western end of the acropolis, which it magnificently adorned. 

Athens. — No other description of Athens, in the age of Pericles, equals 
Ms own in the Funeral Oration (431 B.C.), as given by Thucydides, for those 
who had fallen in the war. It shows how an Athenian looked upon his city. 



GRECIAN TflS'IORY. 99 

"It is true that we are called a democracy; for the administration is in the hands of the 
many, and not of the few. But while the law secures equal justice to all alike in their private 
disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized; and when a citizen is in any way distin- 
guished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as the reward of 
merit. Neither is poverty a bar; but a man may benefit his country, whatever be the obscurity 
of his condition. There is no exclusiveness in our public life; and in our private intercourse 
we are not suspicious of one another, nor angry with our neighbor if he does what he likes: 
we do not put on sour looks at him, which, though harmless, are not pleasant. While we are 
thus unconstrained in our private intercourse, a spirit of reverence pervades our public acts: 
we are prevented from doing wrong by respect for authority and the laws, having an especial 
regard to those which are ordained for the protection of the injured, as well as to those unwritten 
laws which bring upon the transgressor of them the reprobation of the general sentiment. 

" And we have not forgotten to provide for our weary spirits many rela.vations from toil. 
We have regular games and sacrifices throughout the year. At home the style of our life is 
refined, and the delight which we daily feel in all these things helps to banish melancholy. 
Because of the greatness of our city, the fruits of the whole earth flow in upon us; so that we 
enjoy the goods of other countries as freely as of our own. 

" Then, again, our military training is in many respects superior to that of our adversaries. 
Our city is thrown open to the world; and we never expel a foreigner, or prevent him from see- 
ing or learning any thing of which the secret, if revealed to an enemy, might profit him. We 
rely not upon management or trickery, but upon our own hearts and hands. And in the matter 
of education, whereas they from early youth are always undergoing laborious exercises which 
are to make them brave, we live at ease, and yet are equally ready to face the perils which they 
face. And here is the proof, — the Lacedasmonians come into Attica, not by themselves, but with 
their whole confederacy following: we go alone into a neighbor's country; and, although our 
opponents are fighting for their homes, and we are on a foreign soil, we have seldom any diffi- 
culty in overcoming them. Our enemies have never yet felt our united strength. The care 
of a navy divides our attention, and on land we are obliged to send our own citizens every- 
where. But they, if they meet and defeat a part of our army, are as proud as if they had 
routed us all; and, when defeated, they pretend to have been vanquished by us all. 

" If, then, we prefer to meet danger with a light heart, but without laborious training, and 
with a courage which is gained by habit, and not enforced by law, are we not greatly the gain- 
ers? since we do not anticipate the pain, although, when the hour comes, we can be as brave as 
those who never allow themselves to rest. And thus, too, our city is equally admirable in peace 
and war; for we are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind 
without loss of manliness. Wealth we employ, not for talk and ostentation, but when there is 
real use for it. To avow poverty with us is no disgrace : the true disgrace is in doing nothing 
to avoid it. An Athenian citizen does not neglect the State because he takes care of his own 
household, and even those of us who are engaged in business have a very fair idea of politics. 
We alone regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as harmless, but as a useless 
character; and, if few of us are originators, we are all sound judges of policy. The great 
impediment to action is, in our opinion, not discussion, but the want of that knowledge which 
is gained by discussion preparatory to action. For we have a peculiar power of thinking before 
we act, and of acting too; whereas other men are courageous from ignorance, but hesitate 
upon reflection. And they are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest 
sense both of the pains and pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger. In 
doing good, again, we are unlike others: we make our friends by conferring, not by receiving, 
favors. Now, he who confers a favor is the firmer friend, because he would fain by kindness 
keep alive the memory of an obligation; but the recipient is colder in his feelings, because he 
knows that in requiting another's generosity he will not be winning gratitude, but only paying 
a debt. We alone do good to our neighbors, not upon a calculation of interest, but in the con- 
fidence of freedom, and in a frank and fearless spirit. To sum up, I say that Athens is the 
school of Hellas, and that the individual Athenian in his own person seems to have the power 
of adapting himself to the most varied forms of action with the utmost versatility and grace. 
This is no passing and idle word, but truth and fact; and the assertion is verified by the posi- 
tion to which these qualities have raised the State. For in the hour of trial Athens alone 
among her contemporaries is superior to the report of her. No enemy who comes against her 
is indignant at the reverses which he sustains at the hands of such a city: no subject com- 
plains that his masters are unworthy of him. And we shall assuredly not be without witnesses; 
there are mighty monuments of our power, which will make us the wonder cf this and of suc- 
ceeding ages. We shall not need the praises of Homer or of any other panegyrist, whose 
poetry may please for the moment, although his representation of the facts will not bear the 
light of day; for we have compelled every land and every sea to open a path for our valor, and 
have everywhere planted eternal memorials of our friendship and of our enmity. Such is the 
city for whose sake these men nobly fought and died: they could not bear the thought that she 
might be taken from them, and every one of us who survive should gladly toil on her behalf." 

Religion. — We find in Sophocles a much purer tone of moral and reli- 
gious feeling than in Jloiitcr. Greek thought upon divine thing.s is e.xpanded 
and purified, (i) Higher Conception of the Gods. The gods are still conceived 
of as in bodily form. Their images abide in their temples. Take them 
away, and the god leaves his abode. The divinities need not be present, as 



LofC. 



lOO ANCIENT HISTORY. 

in Homer, in order to exert their power. The monotheistic tendency is man- 
ifest. The " gods " are referred to as if a single agency were in the writer's 
mind. The regal sway of Zeus is emphasized. He is less subject to Fate. 
(2) Divine Government. The gods, especially Zeus, are the fountain of law. 
The righteousness of the divine government is especially evinced in the 
punishment of evil-doers. Transgressors generally, and not those of the 
worst class alone, as in Homer, are punished in Hades. Pride and insolence 
call down the vengeance of the gods. Unsleeping justice pursues the crimi- 
nal. The theory of Nemesis, which pursues the prosperous, if they are 
proud, to their hurt and ruin, is held. (3) Number of the Gods. The num- 
iDer of divinities is multiplied as time advances. The worship of the heroes, 
children of the gods or goddesses, grows in importance. (4) Revelation. 
There was direct revelation, it was believed, by prophecy, uttered now in 
an ecstatic, and now in a tranquil, mood. Oracles acquired a new and vast 
importance. (5) Rites. Visible objects of devotion were multiplied; reli- 
gious ceremonies ramified in all directions ; sacred processions, festivals, 
amusements involving religious observances, abounded. (6) Morality. Moral 
excellence centered in moderation and self-government, through which the 
individual keeps both his own nature as to its parts, and himself in relation 
to others, within due limits. This spirit includes temperance and justice. 
The stern spirit of law prevails : the requital of injuries is approved. Yet 
feelings of compassion find a beautiful expression. At Athens, there was 
public provision for orphans and for the help of the poor. (7) Domestic Life : 
Patriotism. The wife lived in retirement, and in submission to her hus- 
band. When he entertained friends at his table, she was absent ; yet domestic 
affection was evidently strong. Every other duty merged in patriotism. 
The Greek placed a great gulf between himself and the " barbarian." He 
was conscious of higher intellectual gifts, superior culture, better customs. 
(8) Sin • The Future Life. There was a deeper sense of sin than in the 
Homeric era. There was a pathetic consciousness of the trouble and sor- 
row that beset human life. Hades was regarded as a scene of trial and judg- 
ment, and of rewards as well as sufferings. The soul was not so closely 
identified with the body. Death was an object of gloomy anticipation. 
Pericles, in his funeral oration for the fallen patriots, is silent as to a future 
life. In the tragic poets, it is only the select few whose lot is blessed. As 
concerns tlie mass of the people, it is probatile that the Homeric notions 
respecting the state of the dead still prevailed. Generally speaking, we are 
not warranted in ascribing the more elevated views of religion entertained 
by the best minds to the mass of the people. 

The Tragic Drama. — The songs which were sung in the worship of 
Dionysus (dithyrambs) were accompanied with dance and pantomime. The 
custom followed of mingling speeches and dramatic action with these lyrics. 
The change is ascribed to Tliespis (about 536 B.C.), a little later than Solon. 
Thespis is said to have brought in the stage for the performers. The 
Greek theaters were large, open to the sky, and sometimes on sites which 
commanded fine views. There was the amphitheater, with graded seats for 
spectators, and the stage, together with the orchestra where the choir in 
song or musical recitation reflected the sympathies and views of the spec- 
tators of the play. At first there was only one actor, and, of course, a 
monologue. yEschylus is said to have brought in a second actor, and Soph- 
ocles a third. These, with Ewipides, were the three great dramatists of 
Greece. The choral song, which had been the chief thing, was made sec- 
ondary to the dialogue, ^schylus, at the age of forty-five, fought in the 
battle of Salamis ; Sophocles, then fifteen years old, took part in the festival 
in honor of the victory ; and Euripides was born, it was supposed, on the 
very day of the battle. These three brought the tragic drama to perfection. 
Of the productions of ^Eschylus (525-456 B.C.), seven remain. They are 
inspired with the ..heroic and elevated mood which was engendered by the 



GRECIAN HISTORY. lOI 

great struggle against the Persians. Of the numerous plays of Sophocles 
(495-406 li.C), the number of those extant is also seven. They so combine 
vigor and force with refinement of thought and style that they are surpassed, 
if indeed they are equaled, by the literary products of no age or country. 
In Euripides (480-406 IJ.C), while there is an insight into the workings of 
the iieart, and the antique nobleness of sentiment, there is less simplicity, 
and there is manifest the less earnest and believing tone of the later day. In 
the dramas, the " unities " of time, place, and action are observed. The acts 
together seldom stretch over a single day. 

Comedy. — Comedy, in which Aristophanes (452-388 B.C.), a great poet 
as well as a great wit, was the principal author, dealt largely in satire. Con- 
spicuous men, and those active in public affairs, were represented on the stage 
in satirical pieces, so that they were at once identified. The spirit of the 
"old comedy " was patriotic, although it might be unjust, as in the case of 
Socrates, who was a target for the wit of Aristophanes. The "middle 
comedy " was nothing really distinct from the " new comedy." The " new 
comedy," in which Menander (342-290 B.C.) was an eminent author, ceased 
to present actual persons, and dealt with imaginary characters alone. Among 
the Greeks in Lower Italy and Sicily, mimes were much in vogue. 

Greek Art: Architecture. — The Greeks more and more broke away 
in a free and joyous spirit from the stiff and conventional styles of Egyptian 
and Oriental art. In the room of the somber, massive edifices of Egypt, 
they combined symmetry and beauty with grandeur in the temples which 
they erected. The temples were originally colored within and without. Three 
styles were developed, — the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corintliian. In the 
Doric, the column and entablature have the most solid and simple form. 
The column has no other base than the common platform on which the 
pillars rest, and the capital that surmounts it is a plain slab. 

In the Ionic style, the column has a distinct base, is more tall and slender, 
and its capital has two volutes, or spiral moldings. The capital of the Corin- 
thian column is peculiar, representing flower calices and leaves, "pointing 
upwards, and curving like natural plants." The acanthus, on account of its 
graceful form, was generally copied. The most ancient Doric temples, of a 
date prior to the Persian war, of which the ruined temple of Neptune at 
Psestum is one, are, in comparison with later edifices, of a severe and mas- 
sive style. In the period extending from the Persian war to the Macedonian 
rule, the stern simplicity of the Doric is modified by the softer and more 
graceful character of the Ionic. The temple of Theseus at Athens is an ex- 
ample. The Parthenon was the most beautiful specimen of the Doric, which 
has appropriated the grace of the Ionic column without losing its own dis- 
tinctive character. In the later period, after freedom was lost, there was 
much more ornamentation. It was then that the more decorated Corinthian 
style flourished. 

Sculpture. — Before the Persian wars, in the earliest sculpture the re- 
straint of Egyptian and Oriental styles is perceptible in the sculptors, of whom 
Ditdalus is the mythical representative. The oldest statues were of wood, 
which was subsequently covered with gold and ivory, or painted. The lofty 
style of Phidias (4S8-432 B.C.), and of Polycletus of Argos, became prevalent 
in the flourishing period of Greek liberty. I\Iyro)t, to whom we owe the Dis- 
cobolns (Disk-Thrower), belongs to the school of ^gina. Statues were now 
made in brass and marble. They were everywhere to be seen. The pedi- 
ments and friezes of the temples were covered with exquisitely wrought 
sculptures. The most beautiful sculptures that have come- down from an- 
tiquity are the marbles of the Parthenon. The Greeks appreciated to the 
full the beauty of nature. They gave to their gods ideal human forms, in 
which were blended every attribute of majesty and grace which are con- 
ceived to belong to perfected humanity. Sculpture in Greece, as elsewhere, 
was allied to religion; "but whilst the religion of the Egyptians was a 



102 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

religion of the tomb, and their ideal world a gloomy spot peopled by sleep- 
ing lions, dreamy sphinxes, or weird unearthly monsters, the mythology of 
the Greeks, rightly understood, is an exquisite poem, the joint creation of the 
master-minds of infant Greece ; and their art is a translation of that poem 
into visible forms of beauty." In the third period, which may be made to ter- 
minate with the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.), there were masters 
in sculpture, among whom Praxiteles and Scopas are at the head. More and 
more, as we come down to the Roman period, while extraordinary technical 
perfection is still manifested, the loftier qualities of art tend to disappear. 

Painting. — In Greece, painting first ceased to be subordinate to archi- 
tecture, and became independent. In early days, there was skill in the orna- 
mentation of vases and in mural painting. Yet, with much spirit and feeling, 
there was a conventional treatment. The earliest artist of whom we know 
much is Polygnotus (about 420 B.C.), whose groups of profile figures were 
described as remarkable for their life-like character and fine coloring. Apol- 
lodoriis of Athens was distinguished, but Zenxis of Heraclea is said to have 
been the first to paint movable pictures. He is famed for his marvelous 
power of imitation : the birds pecked at a bunch of grapes which he painted. 
But even he was outdone by Parrhasins. Zeuxis, however, had far higher 
qualities than those of a literal copyist. The most successful of the Greek 
painters was Apelles. Among his masterpieces was a painti-ng of Venus ris- 
ing from the waves, and a portrait of Alexander the Great. We have not 
in painting, as in sculpture, a store of monuments of Greek art ; but the skill 
of the Greeks in painting fell behind their unequaled genius in molding the 
human form in bronze and marble. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAK. 

I. TO THE PEACE OF NICIAS (42 1 B.C.). 

To the Death of Pericles. — Wonderful as was the growth of 
Athens under Pericles, it is obvious that she stood exposed to two 
principal sources of danger. Her allies and dependants, the stay 
of that naval power in which her strength lay, were discontented 
with her spirit of domination and of extortion. The Peloponne- 
sian Alliance, which was led by Sparta, the bulwark of the aristo- 
cratic interest, comprised, with the Dorian, most of the ^olian 
states, — as Boeotia, Phocis, Locris, etc. Its military strength lay 
mainly in its heavy-armed infantry. Thus Sparta had the advan- 
tage of strong allies. The motive at the bottom of this aUiance 
was what Thucydides tells was the real cause of the Peloponnesian 
war, — the jealousy which the growth of Athens excited in other 
states. This feeling really involved a conviction of the need of 
maintaining in Greece that which in modern times is called a 
"balance of power." When Greece was no longer one, as in the 
best days of the wars with Persia, but was divided into two oppo- 
site camps, watchful and jealous of one another, an occasion of 
conflict could not fail to arise. It was complained that Athens 



GRECIAN HISTORY. IO3 

gave help to Corcyra in a war with Corinth, its mother city, made 
war upon Potidcca in Macedonia, a Corinthian colony, and also 
shut out Mcgara from the harbors of Attica. 

The demands made by Sparta, which included the granting of 
independence to ALgina, were rejected. Attica was ravaged by 
Spartan troops, and the coast of Peloponnesus by the Athenian 
fleet (431 B.C.). This desolating warfare was kept up until a 
frightful pestilence broke out at Athens, — a plague having its ori- 
gin in Egypt, and passing thence over Asia and the Greek islands. 
Two of the sons of Pericles died, and an accumulation of public 
burdens and private sorrows brought on his own death (Sept., 429). 

The Pestilence. — The horrors of the pestilence are thus described in a celebrated 
passage of the best of the Greek historians, Thitcydides: " The crowding of the people out of 
the country into the city aggravated the misery, and the newly arrived suffered most. For, 
having no houses of their own, but inhabiting, in the height of summer, stifling huts, the mor- 
tality among them was dreadful, and they perished in wild disorder. The dead lay as they had 
died, one upon another; while others, hardly alive, wallowed in the streets, and crawled about 
every fountain, craving for water. The temples in which they lodged were full of the corpses 
of those who died in them; for the violence of the calamity was such that men, not knowing 
where to turn, grew reckless of all law, human and divine. The customs which had hitherto 
been observed at funerals were universally violated, and they buried their dead, each one as 
best he could. Many, having no proper appliances, because the deaths in their household had 
been so frequent, made no scruple of using the burial-place of others. When one man had 
raised a funeral-pile, others would come, and, throwing on their dead first, set fire to it; or, 
when some other corpse was already burning, before they could be stopped, would throw their 
own dead upon it, and depart. 

" There were other and worse forms of lawlessness which the plague introduced at Athens. 
Men who had hitherto concealed their indulgence in pleasure, now grew bolder. For, seeing 
the sudden change, — how the rich died in a moment, and those who had nothing, immediately 
inherited their property, — they reflected that life and riches were alike transitory, and they 
resolved to enjoy themselves while they could, and to think only of pleasure. Who would 
be willing to sacrifice himself to the law of honor when he knew not whether he would ever live 
to be held in honor ? The pleasure of the moment, and any sort of thing which conduced to it, 
took the place both of honor and of expediency: no fear of God or law of man deterred a 
criminal. Those who saw all perishing alike, thought that the worship or neglect of the gods 
made no difference. For oflenses against human law, no punishment was to be feared: no one 
would live long enough to be called to account. Already a far heavier sentence had been 
passed, and was hanging over a man's head: before that fell, why should he not take a little 
pleasure? " 

To the Truce with Sparta. — The loss of Pericles, coupled 
with the terrible calamities which had befallen Athens, let loose 
the winds of party passion. New leaders of the democracy, of 
whom C/ron was the most noted, who lacked the refinement and 
self-restraint of Pericles, took his place. The Athenians were not 
able to save Platcea, to which they owed so much, from destruc- 
tion at the hands of the Spartans and Boeotians (427 B.C.) ; but 
Lesbos they recovered, and captured Myiiletie, the bulk of whose 
citizens, against the will of Cleon, they spared. To the cruelties 
of war, which the revengeful temper of the Spartans promoted, 
there was added another plague at Athens, besides an earthquake, 
and tremendous rain-storms, alternating widi drought. 

Demosthenes, a brave and enterprising Athenian general, took 
possession of Pylos in Messenia. The Spartans, under Brasidas, 
were on the island of Sphacteria o])posite ; and their retreat was 
cut off by the fleet under Nieias, who was the leader of the more 



I04 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

aristocratic faction at Athens. Clean, made strategus in the room 
of Nicias, took Sphacteria by storm, contrary to general expecta- 
tion, and brought home nearly three hundred Spartan prisoners. 
Athens had other successes ; but when her forces had been de- 
feated by the Boeotians at Delium, and Brasidas had captured 
Amphipolis, and when in a battle there (422 B.C.) Brasidas was 
victorious over Cieon, who fell during the flight, the aristocratic 
party, which was desirous of peace, gained the upper hand. 
Nicias concluded a truce with Sparta for fifty years. Each party 
was to restore its conquests and prisoners. 

II. THE INFLUENCE OF ALCIBIADES. 

The Sicilian Expedition. — From this time, Aldbiades, a rela- 
tive of Pericles, but lacking his sobriety and disinterested spirit, 
plays an active part. Beautiful in person, rich, a graceful and 
effective orator, but restless and ambitious, he quickly acquired 
great influence. Three years after the peace of Nicias, he per- 
suaded Athens to join a league of disaffected Peloponnesian allies 
of Sparta ; but in the battle of Mantinea (418 B.C.) the Spartans 
regained their supremacy. It was at the suggestion of Alcibiades 
that the Athenians undertook the great Sicilian Expedition, which 
resulted in the worst disasters they ever suffered. This expedition 
was aimed at the Dorian city of Syracuse, and the hope was that 
all Sicily might be conquered. It consisted of about forty thou- 
sand men, besides the sailors. The commanders were Alcibiades, 
Nicias, and Lamachus. Alcibiades was recalled to answer a 
charge of sacrilege. At Thurii he managed to escape and went 
over to the side of Sparta. Gylippus went with a small Spartan 
fleet to aid Syracuse. The Athenians were repulsed in their attack 
on the city. Although re-inforced by land and naval forces under 
a gallant and worthy general, Demosthejies, they fought under great 
disadvantages, so that their fleet was destroyed in the Syracusan 
harbor. Their retreating forces on land were cut to pieces or cap- 
tured. Nicias and Demosthenes died either at the hands of the 
executioner or by a self-inflicted death. 

Naval Contests. — No such calamity had ever overtaken a 
Grecian army. The news of it brought anguish into almost every 
family in Athens. The Spartans had fortified the village of Decelea 
in Attica, and sought on the sea, with Persian help, to annihilate the 
Athenian navy. The allies of Athens, Chios, Miletus, etc., revolted. 
The oligarchs at Athens overthrew the democratic constitution, 
and placed the Government in the hands of a Council of Four 
Hundred. The popular assembly was limited to five thousand 
members, and was never called together. The object was to make 
peace with Sparta. But the army before Samos, of which Thrasy- 



GRECIAN HISTORY. IO5 

hulus, a patriotic man, was the leader, refused to accept this change 
of governmeiit. /ilcibiadcs, who had left the Spartans out of anger 
on account of their treatment of him, was recalled, and assumed 
command. The oligarchical rule was overturned in four months 
after its establishment, and the democracy restored, — the assembly 
being still limited, however, to five thousand citizens. Three bril- 
liant naval victories, the last at Cyzicus (410 B.C.), were won over 
the Spartans by Alcibiades who came back to Athens in triumph 
(408 B.C.). Lysandcr\\d& the commander of the Spartan fleet on 
the coast of Asia Minor, and (407 B.C.) gained a victory over the 
Athenian ships during a temporary absence of Alcibiades. Alcibi- 
ades was not reelected general. He now withdrew, and, three years 
later, died. The new Spartan admiral, CaUicratidas, surrounded the 
Athenian fleet under Conon at Mitylene. By very strenuous exer- 
tions of the Athenians, a new fleet was dispatched to the help of 
Conon; and in the battle oi Arginuscz (406 B.C.), the Pelopon- 
nesians were completely vanquished. The public spirit of Athens 
and the resources of a free people were never more impressively 
shown than in the prodigious efforts made by the Athenians to rise 
from the effect of the crushing disaster which befell the Sicilian 
expedition on which their hopes were centered. But these exer- 
tions only availed to furnish to coming generations an example of 
the heroic energy and love of country which are possible under 
free government. 

III. THE FALL OF ATHENS. 

Lysauder oncQ more took command of the Spartan fleet. Shrewd 
in diplomacy, as well as skillful in battle, he strengthened his naval 
force by the aid of Cyrus the Younger, the Persian governor in Asia 
Minor. Watching his opportunity, he attacked the Athenians at 
/Egospotami, opposite Lampsacus, when soldiers and sailors were 
off their guard (405 B.C.). Three thousand of them, who had not 
been slain in the assault, were slaughtered after they had been 
taken captive. Conon escaped to Cyprus with only eight ships. 
One fast-sailing trireme carried the news of the overwhelming de- 
feat to Athens. Lysander followed up his success cautiously, but 
with energy. Islands and seaports surrendered to him, and in them 
he established the aristocratic rule. The Athenians were shut in 
by land and by sea. A treacherous aristocratic faction within the 
walls was working in the interest of the Spartans. Famine con- 
spired with other agencies to destroy the multitude of homeless and 
destitute people who had crowded into the city. Starvation com- 
pelled a surrender to the Spartan general. The long walls and for- 
tifications were demolished by the ruthless conqueror, the work of 
destruction being carried on to the sound of the flute. All but 
twelve vessels were given up to the captors. The democratic sys- 



I06 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

tem was subverted, and thirty men — the "Thirty Tyrants " — of 
the ohgarchical party were estabhshed in power, with Critias, a 
depraved and passionate, though able, man, at their head (404- 
403 B.C.). They put a Spartan garrison in the citadel, and sought 
to confirm their authority by murdering or banishing all whom they 
suspected of opposition. Thrasybulus, a patriot, collected the 
democratic fugitives at Phyle, defeated the Thirty, and seized the 
PircEus. Critias was slain. Ten oligarchs of a more moderate 
temper were installed in power. In co-operation with the Spartan 
king, Pausanias, the two parties at Athens were reconciled. An 
amnesty was proclaimed, and democracy in a moderate form was 
restored, with a revision of the laws, under the archonship of Eiulides 
(403 B.C.). It was shortly after this change that the trial and 
death of Socrates occurred, the wisest and most virtuous man of 
ancient times (399 B.C.). 

Philosophy: Socrates. — At the head of the Greek philosophers is 
the illustrious name of Socrates. He was the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, 
and was born 469 B.C., just as Pericles was assuming the leadership at Athens. 
Socrates was the founder of moral philosophy. He was original, being in- 
debted for his ideas to no previous school. He was as sound in body as in 
mind. His appearance was unique. His forehead was massive, but his flat 
nose gave to his countenance an aspect quite at variance with the Greek ideal 
of beauty. He looked, it was said, like a satyr. He taught, in opposition to 
the Sophists, a class of men (including Gorgias, Protagoras, and others) who in- 
structed young men in logic and grammar, taking fees, — which was contrary 
to the custom of the Greek philosophers, — and cultivating intellectual keen- 
ness and dexterity, often at the expense of depth and sincerity. Their work 
as thinkers was negative, being confined mainly to pointing out fallacies in 
existing systems, but providing nothing positive in the room of them. Socrates 
had been called by the oracle at Delphi the wisest of men. He could only 
account for this by the fact, that, in contrast with others, he did not erroneously 
deem himself to be knowing. " Know thyself " was his maxim. His daily 
occupation was to converse with different classes, especially young men, on 
subjects of highest moment to the individual and to the state. By a method 
of quiet cross-examination, the " Socratic irony," he made them aware of 
their lack of clear ideas and tenable, consistent opinions, and endeavored to 
guide them aright. The soid and its moral improvement was his principal 
subject. He asserted Theis7n and the spiritual nature and obligations of 
religion, without calling in question the existence of the various divinities. 
He taught the doctrine of a universal Providence. Absolute loyalty to con- 
science, the preference of virtue to any possible advantage without it, he 
solemnly inculcated. He believed, perhaps not without a mingling of doubt, 
in the immortality of the soul. Taking no part in public affairs, he devoted 
his time to this kind of familiar instruction, — to teaching by dialogue, in 
compliance with what he believed to be an inward call of God. An impulse 
within him, which he called a divine " voice," checked him when he was 
about to take a wrong step. He was charged with corrupting the youth by 
his teaching, and with heresy in religion. His rebukes of the shallow and the 
self-seeking had stung them, and had made him many enemies. Such men as 
Alcibiades and Critias, who had been among his hearers, but for whose mis- 
conduct he was really not in the least responsible, added to his unpopularity. 
The Apology, as given by Plato, contains the substance of his most impressive 
defense before his judges. He took no pains to placate them or his accusers, 



GRECIAN HISTORY. I07 

or to escape after he was convicted. Conversing with liis disciples in the 
same genial, tranquil tone which he had always maintained, he drank the cuj) 
of hemlock, and expired (May, 399 B.C.). An account of his teaching and 
of his method of life is given by his loving scholar, Xoiophoii, in the Memo- 
rabilia. The dialogues of Plato, in which Socrates is the principal interlocutor, 
mingle with the master's doctrine the pupil's own thoughts and speculations. 

Plato. — Plato (427-347 B.C.), the foremost of the disciples of Socrates, 
founded the philosophical school known as the Academy from the place where 
his pupils were wont to meet him. One of his prominent tenets was the doc- 
trine of ideas which he regarded as spiritual realities, intermediate between 
God and the world, of which all visible things are the manifestation. They 
are the shadow, so to speak, of which ideas are the substance. He defined 
virtue in man to be resemblance to God according to the measure of our 
ability. In the Republic, he sets forth his political views, and sketches the 
ideal state. More speculative than Socrates, Plato, from the wide range of 
his discussions, from their poetic spirit as well as their depth of thought, not 
less than their beauty of style, is one of the most inspiring and instructive of 
all authors. No other heathen writer presents so many points of afifinity with 
Christian teaching. 

Aristotle. — Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) studied under Plato, but elaborated 
a system of his own, which was on some points dissonant from that of his 
instructor. His investigations extended over the field of material nature, as 
well as over the field of mind and morals. With less of poetry and of lofty 
sentiment than Plato, he has never been excelled in intellectual clearness 
and grasp. He was possessed of a wonderful power to observe facts, and 
an equally wonderful talent for systemizing them, and reasoning upon them. 
He is the founder of the science of Logic. His treatises on Rlietoric and on 
Ethics have been hardly less important in their influence. His Politics is 
a masterly discussion of political science, based on a diligent examination of 
the various systems of government. In truth, in all departments of research 
he exhibits the same capacity for scientific observation and discussion. In 
religion he was a theist; but he is less spiritual in his vein of thought, and 
more reserved in his utterances on this theme, than Plato. The names of 
these two philosophers have been very frequently coupled. Their influence, 
like their fame, is imperishable. 

Later Schools: the Cynics. — The impulse given by Socrates gave rise 
to still other schools of philosophers. Aristippiis of Cyrene (about 380 B.C.) 
founded a sect which held that happiness is the chief end, the goal of 
rational effort. Antisthe}ies,\\ho was born 422 B.C., and especially Diogenes, 
went to the opposite extreme, and founded the school of Cynics, who looked 
with disdain, not only on luxuries, but on the ordinary comforts of life, and 
inured themselves to do without them. Their manners were often as savage 
as their mode of living. 

Historical Writings. — The three principal historical writers were ^i?;-ort'- 
o/?<^(c.484-c.425 B.C.), the charming but uncritical chronicler of what he heard 
and saw, by whom the interference of the gods in human affairs is devoutly 
credited ; Thucydides, who himself took part in the Peloponnesian war, the 
history of which he wrote with a candor, a profound perception of character, 
an insight into the causes of events, a skill in arrangement, and a condensa- 
tion and eloquence of style, which are truly admirable ; and Xenophon, an 
author characterized by naturalness, simplicity, and a religious spirit. 

Greek Life. — It will be convenient to bring togetliei here some features of Greek life, 
(i) Public Buildings and Diuelliiigs. The Greeks almost ,ilways preferred to live in cities. 
These grew up about an Acropolis, which w.is a fort on a hill, generally a steep crag. This 
was a place of refuge, and the site of the oldest temple. It became often, therefore, a sacred 
place from which private dwellings were excluded. At the nearest harbor, there would be a 
seaport town. The Pirieus was more than four miles from Athens, — a mile farther than the 
nearest shore, but was chosen as being an excellent harbor. Sparta, alone, had no citadel, — 
the access from the plain being easily defended, — and no walls. The attractive buildings in a 



I08 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Greek town were the public edifices. Private houses, as to the exterior, were very plain, with 
flat roofs, with few stories, and low. Towards the street " the house looked like a dead wall 
with a strong door in it." It was built round an open court: in the case of the best houses, 
round two courts, — one bordered by apartments for the men, the other with the rooms for women. 
Bedrooms and sitting-rooms were small, admitting but little light. Fresco-painting on the walls 
and ceilings came to be common. The furniture of the house was plain and simple, but grace- 
ful and elegant in form. The poorer classes slept on skins ; the richer, on woolen mattresses 
laid on girths. The Greeks lived so much in the open air that they took less pains with their 
dwellings. The public buildings were costly and substantially built. (2) Meals, Gymnas- 
tics, etc. The Greeks rose early. There are no notices of a morning bath. The first meal 
was light. It was succeeded, as was the custom at Rome, by calls on friends. Business might 
follow until noon, the hour of the dejeuner, or breakfast, which, in the case of the rich, was 
a substantial meal. Later in the day, males went to the practice of gymnastics, which were 
followed, in later times, by a warm bath. Towards sunset came the principal meal of the 
day. Conversation and music, or the attending of a feast with friends, took up the evening; 
if there was a festal company, often the whole night. At the dinner-table, the Greeks reclined 
on couches. Ladies, if allowed to be present, and children, were required to sit. Spoons, 
sometimes knives, but never forks, were used. (3) Costume: Use of Wine. The dress 
of the Greeks, both of men and women, was simple and graceful. The men were generally 
bareheaded in the streets. In bad weather they wore close-fitting caps, and, in traveling, 
broad-brimmed hats. In Athens and Sparta they always carried walking-sticks. The use 
of wine was universal. It was always mi.xed with water. (4) Slaves. Slaves were regarded 
as chattels. No one objected to slavery as wrong. Slaves were better treated at Athens than 
elsewhere, but even at Athens they were tortured when their testimony was required. They 
were let out, sometimes by thousands, to work in pestiferous mmes. (5) Wojnen and Chil- 
dren. In Athens, the wife had seldom learned any thing but to spin and to cook. She lived 
in seclusion in her dwelling, and was not present with her husband at social entertainments, 
either at home or elsewhere. She had few if any legal rights, although at Athens she might 
bring a suit against her husband for ill-treatment. Concubinage was not condemned by pub- 
lic opinion. There was no law against exposing infants whom the parents did not wish to 
bring up, — that is, leaving them where they would perish. When found and brought up, they 
were the slaves of the person finding them. This cruelty was frequent in the case of daughters, 
or of offspring weak or deformed. There were toys and games for children. A rchytas, a 
philosopher, was said to have invented the child's rattle. Dolls, hoops, balls, etc., were common 
playthings. Boys and girls played hide and seek, blind man's bufi", hunt the slipper, etc. Older 
people played ball, and gambled with dice. (6) Edncation. Theeducationof boys was careful; 
that of girls was neglected. The boy went to or from school under the care of a slave, called 
pedagogice, or leader. Teachers were of different social grades, from the low class which 
taught small children, to the professors of rhetoric and philosophy. It is needless to say how 
much stress was laid on gymnastic and aesthetic training. Boys read Homer and other authors 
at an early age, committing much of them to memory. They were taught to play on the harp 
or the flute, and to smg. Lyric poems they learned by heart. Music held a very high place 
in the esteem of the Greeks for its general influence on the mind. Running, wrestling, throwing 
the dart, etc., the games practiced at the public contests, were early taught. Boys at sixteen 
or eighteen came of age, and were enrolled as citizens. (7) Musical Instruments: the 
Dance. Instrumental music was common among the Greeks at games and meals, and in battle. 
They used no bows on the stringed instruments, but either the fingers or the plectrum, — a 
stick of wood, ivory, or metal. "There were three sorts of stringed instruments, the lyre, the 
cithara (or zithern) , and the harp. The wind-instruments were the pipe, the clarionet, and 
the trumpet. Besides these, there were clanging instruments which were used chiefly in reli- 
gious ceremonies: such were castanets, the cymbal, and the tambourine. Dancing was origi- 
nally connected with religious worship. Mimetic dances were a favorite diversion at feasts 
There were warlike dances by men in armor, who went through the movements of attack and 
defense. In mimetic dances the hands and arms played a part. There were peaceful dances or 
choral dances, marked by rhythmic grace. Sometimes these were slow and measured, and 
sometimes more lively. Specially brisk were the dances at the festivals of Dionysus (Bacchus). 
Symbolic dances of a religious character, these Bacchic dances were the germ of the drama. 
Recitations were first introduced between hymns that attended the choric dances. Then, later, 
followed the dialogue. (8) Weddings and Funerals. Marriage was attended by a religious 
ceremonial. "There was a solemn sacrifice and a wedding-feast. The bride was conveyed to 
her husband's house, accompanied on the way with music and song. When a person died, his 
body was laid out for one day, during which the relatives and hired mourners uttered laments 
round the bier. Burial was at the dawn of day. In later times, a coin was put into the mouth 
of the corpse, with which to pay his passage to the world below. There was a funeral proces- 
sion, and at the tomb a solemn farewell was addressed to the decea.sed by name. There was 
then a funeral-feast. Mourning garments were worn for a short period. The dead were buried 
in the suburbs of the cities, generally on both sides of a highway. In the tomb many little 
presents, as trinkets and vases, were deposited. (9) Courts 0/ Law. At law men pleaded 
their own causes, but might take advice or have their speeches composed for them by others. 
In some cases, friends were allowed to speak in behalf of a litigant. Men like Demosthenes 
received large fees for services of this kind. There being no public prosecutor, informers were 
more numerous. "Lhey became odious under the name of sycophants, which is supposed to 
have been first applied to those who informed against breakers of an old law forbidding the 
exportation of figs from Athens. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 109 



CHAPTER IV. 

RELATIONS WITH PERSIA. -THE SPARTAN AND THEBAN 
HEGEMONY. 

The Retreat of the Ten Thousand. — The Anabasis, the princi- 
pal work of Xefiophon, describes the retreat from the Tigris to the 
coast of Asia Minor, of a body of ten thousand mercenary Greek 
troops, — a retreat effected under his own masterly leadership. 
The Persian Empire, now in a process of decay, was torn with civil 
strife. Xefxcs and his eldest son had been murdered (465 B.C.). 
The story of several reigns which follow is full of tales of treason 
and fratricide. On the death of Darius II. (Darius Nothus) 
(423-404 B.C.), the younger Cyrus undertook to dethrone his 
brother Artaxerxes II., and for that purpose organized, in Asia 
Minor, a military expedition, made up largely of hired Greek troops. 
At Cunaxa, not far from Babylon, Cyrus fell in the combat with 
his brother. The Persians enticed the Greek generals to come 
into their camp, and slew them. Xenophon, an Athenian vol- 
unteer who had accompanied the army, conducted the retreat of 
his countrymen, with whom he encountered incredible hardships 
in the slow and toilsome journey through Armenia to Trapezus 
(Trebizond), and thence to Byzantium. The story of this march, 
through snow, over rugged mountains, and across rapid currents, is 
told in the Anabasis. A very striking passage is the description 
of the joy of the Greeks when from a hilltop they first descried 
the Black Sea. The soldiers shouted, " The sea ! the sea ! " and 
embraced one another and their officers. 

The Corinthian War and the Peace of Antalcidas. — Tissa- 
phernes, the antagonist and successor of the younger Cyrus, was 
Persian governor in Asia Minor, and set out to bring under the yoke 
the Ionic cities which had espoused the cause of Cyrus. Sparta 
came to their aid, and King Agcsilaus defeated the Persians near 
the Pactolus (395 B.C.). The Persians stirred up an enemy 
nearer home, by the use of gold, and the Bceoiians, Corinthians, 
and Argives,]t2\o\x% of Sparta, and resentful at the tyranny of her 
governors (harmosts), and joined by Athens, took up arms against 
the Lacedaemonians. Lysander fell in battle with the allies (395 
B.C.). The course of the war in which Conon, the Athenian com- 
mander, destroyed the Spartan fleet at Cnidus, made it necessary 
to recall Agesilaus. His victory at Coronea (394 B.C.) did not 
avail to turn the tide in favor of Sparta. Conon rebuilt the long 
walls at Athens with the assistance of Persian money. The issue 
of the conflict was the Peace of Antalcidas \\A\\\ Persia (387 B.C.). 
The Grecian cities of Asia Minor were given up to the Persians, 
as were the islands of Clazomence and Cyprus. '\Vith the exception 



no ANCIENT HISTORY. 

of Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros, which the Athenians were to con- 
trol, all of the other states and islands were to be free and indepen- 
dent. This was a great concession to Persia. Greek union was 
broken up : each state was left to take care of itself as it best could. 
Antalcidas cared little for his country : his treaty was the natural 
result of Spartan aggressiveness and selfishness. 

Contest of Thebes and Sparta. — The Spartans had fallen away 
from the old rules of life ascribed to Lycurgus. They were pos- 
sessed by a greed for gold. There were extremes of wealth and 
poverty among them. After the treaty of Antalcidas, they still 
lorded it over other states, and were bent on governing in Pelo- 
ponnesus. At length they were involved in a contest with Thebes. 
This was caused by the seizure of the Cadfiieia, the Theban citadel, 
by the Spartan Phoehidas acting in conjunction with an aristocratic 
party in Thebes (383 B.C.). The Theban democrats, who, under 
Pelopidas, made Athens their place of rendezvous, liberated Thebes, 
and expelled the Spartans from the Cadmeia. Hostile attempts of 
Sparta against Athens induced the Athenians to form a new con- 
federacy (or symmachy) composed of seventy communities (378 
B.C.) ; and, after they had gained repeated successes on the sea, the 
two states concluded peace. Athens had become alarmed at the 
increased power of Thebes, and was ready to go over to the side 
of Sparta, her old enemy. It was a feeling in favor of a balance of 
power like that which had prompted Sparta at the close of the Pelo- 
ponnesian war, to refuse to consent to the destruction of Athens, 
which Thebes and Corinth had desired. Cleombi-otus, king of 
Sparta, again invaded Bceotia. The principal Boeotian leader was 
Epaminondas, one of the noblest patriots in all Grecian history, — 
in his disinterested spirit and self-government resembling Washing- 
ton. The Spartan king was defeated by him in the great battle of 
Leuctra (371 B.C.), and was there slain. At this time the rage of 
party knew no bounds. The wholesale massacre of political antag- 
onists in a city was no uncommon occurrence. 

Theban Hegemony. — The victory of Leuctra gave the hegem- 
ony to Thebes. Three times the Boeotians invaded the Spartan" 
territory. They founded Megalopolis in Arcadia, to strengthen 
the Arcadians against their Lacedaemonian assailants (370 B.C.). 
They also revived the Messenian power, recalled the Messenians 
who had long been in exile, and founded the city of Messene. In 
the battle of Mantinea (362 B.C.), Epaminondas, though victo- 
rious against the Spartans and their allies, was slain. Peace fol- 
lowed among the Grecian states, Sparta alone refusing to be a 
party to it. In the course of this intestine war, the Thebans had 
broken up the new maritime sway gained by them. 



Period III. 
THE MACEDONIAN ERA. 



CHAPTER I. 
PHILIP AND ALEXANDER. 

The Macedonians. — The Greeks, exhausted by long-continued 
war with one another, were just in a condition to fall under the 
dominion of Macedonia, the kingdom on the north which had been 
ambitious to extend its power. The Macedonians were a mixed 
race, partly Greek and partly lUyrian. Although they were not 
acknowledged to be Greeks, their kings claimed to be of Greek 
descent, and were allowed to take part in the Olympian games. 
At first an inland community, living in the country, rough and un- 
cultivated, made up mostly of farmers and hunters, they had been 
growing more civilized by the efforts of their kings to introduce 
Greek customs. Archelaus (413-399 B.C.) had even attracted 
Greek artists and poets to his court. At the same time they were 
exerting themselves to extend their power to the sea. The people 
were hardy and brave. When Epaminondas died, Philip (359- 
336 B.C.) was on the Macedonian throne. He had lived three 
years at Thebes, and had learned much from Epaminondas, the 
best strategist and tactician of his day. The decline of public 
spirit in Greece had led the states to rely very much on mercenary 
troops, whose trade was war. Philip had a well-drilled standing 
army. Every thing was favorable to the gratification of his wish 
to make himself master of Greece. First he aimed to get pos- 
session of Greek cities in Chalcidice, of which Olynthus was the 
chief. The xA.thenians had towns in that region, besides Amphipolis, 
which was formerly theirs. Philip contrived to make the Olyn- 
thians his allies ; and then, crossing the river Sttymon, he con- 
quered the western part of Thrace, where there were rich gold 
mines. There, for purposes of defense, he founded the city of 
Phi/ippi. 

The Sacred War. — A pretext for interfering in the affairs of 
Greece, Philip found in the Sacred War in behalf of the temple 
of Delphi, which had been forced to loan money to the Phocians 



112 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

during a war waged by them against Thebes, to throw off the 
Theban supremacy. Athens and Spa?'ta joined the Phocians. 
The Thessahan nobles sided with Phihp. He gained the victory 
in his character of champion of the Amphictyonic Council, and 
took his place in that body, in the room of the Phocians (346 
B.C.). But this was not accomplished until he had made peace 
with the Athenians, so that there was no Athenian force at the 
pass of Thermopylae to resist his progress. 

Demosthenes. — The Athenians had placed themselves at the 
head of an ^gean Leagus, and, had they managed with more spirit 
and prudence, they might have checked Philip. There was one 
man, worthy of the best days of Greece, who penetrated the de- 
signs of Philip, and exerted his great powers to stimulate his 
countrymen to a timely resistance. This was Demosthenes (385- 
322 B.C.). He was the prince of the school of orators who had 
sprung up in these troublous times. Overcoming natural obsta- 
cles, he had trained himself with such assiduity that a place at the 
head of all orators, ancient and modern, is generally conceded to 
him. He was a great statesman, moved by a patriotic spirit : his 
speeches were for the welfare and salvation of the state. In 358 
B.C., a war broke out between Athens and its maritime allies, in 
which Athens was unsuccessful. It was on the conquest of Thes- 
saly by Philip, that Demosthenes made against him the first of that 
series of famous speeches known as Philippics (351 B.C.). In 
vain he urged the Athenians to rescue Olynthus. The inefficiency 
of the aid rendered, enabled Philip to conquer and destroy that 
city, and to sell its inhabitants as slaves (348 B.C.). Thirty cities 
he destroyed, and annexed all Chalcidice to Macedon. A Mace- 
donian party was formed at Athens, the foremost leader of which 
was ^schines, not a good citizen, but an orator only second in 
rank to Demosthenes. They contended that it was futile to resist 
the advance of the Macedonian power. Demosthenes went at the 
head of an embassy to the Peloponnesian states which had taken 
sides with Philip, but his efforts to dissuade them from this suicidal 
policy were unavailing. What he wanted was a union of all 
Greeks against the common enemy, who was bent on robbing them 
of their liberty. He gathered, at length, a strong party about him 
at Athens. The overtures of peace from Philip, who was prose- 
cuting his conquests in Thrace, were rejected. Athenian forces 
obliged the king to give up the siege of Byzantium (341 B.C.). 
The consequent enlarged influence of Demosthenes was used by 
him to secure an increase of the fund for carrying on the war. 
But Philip had his paid supporters in all the Greek states, ^s- 
chines at Athens proved an efficient helper. A deputy at the 
Amphictyonic Council, in t^^S B.C., he contrived to bring about 
another " holy war " against Amphissa in Locris, the end being 



GRECIAN HISTORY. I 1.3 

to give Philip the command. PhiHp seized Elaiea, in the east of 
Phocis, which commanded the entrance to Boeotia and Attica. 
Dismay spread through Greece. Demosthenes roused the Athe- 
nian assembly, where all were silent through fear, to confront 
Philip boldly, and himself went to Thebes, which he induced to 
form an alliance with Athens. But the allies were defeated at the 
fatal batde of ChcBronea (August, 338 B.C.), where Alexander, 
Philip's youthful son, decided the fortune of the day by vanquish- 
ing the Theban " sacred band." Pliilip treated the Thebans with 
great severity. He placed a garrison in the Cadnieia. To Athens 
he granted favorable terms. Marching into Peloponnesus, he took 
from Sparta a large part of its territory, and apportioned it to the 
Messenians, Argi\'es, and Arcadians. At a national assembly at 
Corinth, from which the Spartans were absent, Philip caused 
himself to be created leader of the Grecian forces against Persia, 
with the powers of a dictator. Each of the Greek states was to 
retain its autonomy ; and a congress, to meet at Corinth, was 
to settle differences among them. Two years after the battle of 
Chaeronea, at the marriage festival of his daughter with the king 
of Epirus, Philip was assassinated by means of a conspiracy, in 
which his queen is thought to have been a partner. 

Alexander the Great. — Alexander was twenty years old when 
his father died. His bodily health and vigor quahfied him for 
combats and toils which few soldiers in his army could endure. 
His energy, rapidity, and military skill lift him to a level with 
Hannibal and the foremost commanders of any age. He was not 
without a generous appreciation of art and literature. The great 
philosopher, Aristotle, was one of his tutors. For the eminent 
authors and artists of Greece he cherished a warm admiration. 
But his temper was passionate and imperious. Homer was his 
delight, and in Homer he took Agamemnon for his model ; but 
the direst act of cruelty done by Achilles — that of dragging Hector 
after his chariot — he exceeded when he dragged Batis, a general 
who had opposed him, at the tail of his chariot through the streets 
of Gaza. Especially when his passions were inflamed by strong 
drink, — as at banquets, occasions where Macedonian princes be- 
fore him had been wont to drink to excess, — he was capable of 
savage deeds. 

Alexander in Greece: His Army. — At a congress in Corinth, 
Alexander was recognized as the leader and general of Greece. 
In the spring of 335 B.C., he made a campaign against the bar- 
barous peoples north of Macedonia, — the Thracians, the Getc^, and 
the Illyrians. A false report of his death led to an uprising of 
the Greeks. Quickly returning, he took vengeance on the The- 
bans by razing their city to the ground, sparing only the temples and 
Pindar's house, and by selling its thirty thousand inhabitants into 



114 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

slavery. Athens prayed for pardon, which was granted, even the 
demand for the surrender of Demosthenes and other leaders being 
revoked. All resistance in Greece was over. Alexander's hands 
were free to complete his preparations for the task of conquering 
the Persian Empire. His army was strong through its valor and 
discipline rather than its numbers. The Macedonian phalanx was 
the most effective force which had hyfaerto been used in war. It 
was made up of foot soldiers drawji tip in ranks, three feet apart, 
with spears twenty- one feet in length, held fifteen feet from the 
point. The length of the spears and the projection of so many 
in front of the first rank, gave to the phalanx a great advantage, 
although such a body of troops could be turned around with diffi- 
culty. Alexander began his battles with other troops, and used 
the phalanx for the decisive charge. Only native Macedonians 
served in the phalanx. This was the case, also, with the Guard, 
a body of infantry, and with two divisions of cavalry, one clad in 
heavy armor, and one in light. With these troops were Greek and 
barbarian soldiers, infantry and cavalry, and a division for hurling 
stones, which was used not only in sieges, but also in battles. 
There was a band of young Macedonian soldiers called pages, 
also a body-guard selected from these by promotion ; and out of 
this the king chose his generals. The army consisted of not more 
than forty thousand men, but it was so organized as to be com- 
pletely under the control of Alexander ; and he was a military 
genius of the first order. 

The Campaign of Alexander : to the Battle of Issus. — In the 
spring of 334 B.C., Alexander crossed the Hellespont at Ahydos. 
At Ilium (Troy) he performed various rites in honor of the heroes 
of the Trojan war, his romantic sympathy with whom was the princi- 
pal tie between him and the Greeks. A Persian army disputed the 
passage of the Granicus. He was the first to enter the river, and 
in the battle displayed the utmost personal valor. His decisive 
victory caused nearly the whole of Asia Minor to submit to him. 
Halicarnassus, and the few other towns that held out, were taken 
by storm. At Tarsus he was cured by his physician, Philip, of a 
dangerous fever, brought on by a bath in the chilly waters of the 
river Cydnus. Darius III., the king of Persia, with a large army, 
approaching from the Euphrates, encountered him in a valley near 
Issus, in Cilicia. There (333 B.C.) was fought the memorable 
battle which settled the fate of the Persian Empire. The host of 
Darius was defeated with great slaughter ; and his camp, with his 
treasures and his family, fell into the hands of the victor. 

To the Battle of Arbela. — After the victory of Issus, Syria 
and Phcenicia submitted, except Ty?r, which was captured after a 
siege of seven months. Two thousand of the inhabitants were 
hung on the walls, and thirty thousand were sold into slavery. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 115 

Gaza resisted, and there Alexander was severely wounded. After 
it was taken, he entered Ei^ypt, and founded the city of Alex- 
andria, in its consequences one of the most memorable acts of 
his life. He marched through Lybia to the temple of Jupitej 
Amnion (331 B.C.). Having thus subdued the lands on the 
west, he passed through Palestine and Syria by way of Damascus, 
crossed the EtipJirates and the Tigris, and met the Persian army 
in the plains of Gaugamela, roar Arbela, — an army more than 
twenty times as large as his own (October, 331 B.C.). After a 
hotly contested battle, the Persians were routed, and their empire 
destroyed. 

To the Invasion of India. — Babylon and Susa with all their 
treasures, and, afterwards, Persepolis and Pasargada, fell into the 
conqueror's hands. He set fire to Persepolis, and sold its male in- 
habitants into slavery. He pursued Darius into Media, Hyrcania, 
and Parthia, where the flying king was murdered by Bessus, one 
of his own nobles, that he might not give himself up to Alexander. 
He then marched east and south through Persia and the modern 
Afghanistan. He tarried at Prophthasia (Furrah) for two months. 
Here it was that he charged Philotas, one of his best officers, with 
a conspiracy against his life, and put him to death ; and after this 
he ordered the murder of Partnenio, his best general, who had 
been a companion in arms of King Philip. Founding cities in 
different places as he advanced, he crossed the Oxus, marched 
through Sogdiana, and crossed the Jaxartes (Sir-Daria). While 
at Samarcatid, in a drunken revel, he slew Clitus, the friend who 
had saved his life in the battle of the Granicus. In a fit of 
remorse he went without food or drink for three days. In Bactra, 
the capital of Bactria, he married Roxana, a princess of the 
country. By this time his head was turned by his unexampled 
victories, conquests and power. He began to demand of his fol- 
lowers the cringing adulation that was paid to Oriental monarchs, 
and when it was denied was ready to inflict summary vengeance. 

To the Death of Alexander. — Crossing the eastern Caucasus 
(the Hindu- KusJi), Alexander moved down the right bank of tlie 
Indus, subduing the tribes whom he met m his path. On the 
further side of the Hydaspes, he met the Indian prince Porus, 
whom he defeated and captured, and converted into an ally. He 
continued his marches and his line of victories as far as the river 
Hyphasis. Here the Macedonian troops would go no farther. 
Alexander turned back (327 B.C.), and with his army and fleet 
moved down the Hydaspes to the Indus, and down the Indus to 
the sea. Nearchus, his admiral, sailed along the shore to the west, 
while Alexander conducted the rest of the army amid infinite hard- 
ships through the desert, and finally met him on the coast. In 
the beginning of the year 325, he reached Susa. Here he plainly 



Il6 ANCIENT HISTORY, 

manifested his purpose of combining Macedonia and Greece with 
the East in one great empire. He adopted the Persian costume 
and ceremonial, and married both the daughter of Darius III. 
and the sister of Artaxerxes III. He prevailed on eighty of his 
Macedonian officers and ten thousand Macedonian soldiers to take 
Persian wives. For himself he exacted the homage paid to a di- 
vinity. These measures, looking to the amalgamation of Macedon 
and Greece with the East on terms of equality, were most offensive 
to the old comrades and subjects of Alexander. He was obliged 
to quell a mutiny, which he accomplished with consummate ad- 
dress and courage (July, 324 B.C.). In the marshes about Baby- 
lon, a place which he intended to make his capital, he contracted 
a fever, which was aggravated by daily revels, and which terminated 
his life (323 B.C.), after a reign of twelve years and eight months. 
Influence of Alexander. — The Persian Empire, when it was 
attacked by Alexander, was a gigantic body without much vitality. 
Yet to overcome it, there was requisite not only the wonderful 
military talents of the conqueror, but the vigilance and painstaking 
which equally characterized him. He has been called " an adven- 
turer." To fight and to conquer, and to spread his- dominion 
wherever there were countries to subdue, seems to have been his 
absorbing purpose. The most substantial result of his exploits, 
which read more like fable than authentic history, was to spread 
IIellenis7n, — to diffuse at least a tincture of Greek civilization, 
together with some acquaintance with the Greek language, over 
the lands of the East. This was a most important work in its 
bearing on the subsequent history of antiquity, and more remotely 
on the history of all subsequent times. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE SUCCESSORS OF ALEXANDER. 

Divisions of the Empire. — Alexander left no legitimate chil- 
dren. The child of Roxana, Alexander the Younger, was born 
after his father's death. The empire naturally fell to his princi- 
pal generals, of whom Perdiccas, having command of the great 
army of Asia, had the chief power. He was obliged to content 
his military colleagues, which he did by giving to them provinces. 
The principal regents, or guardians, were soon reduced to three, — 
Antipater and Craterus in Europe, and Perdiccas. The govern- 
ment was carried on in the name of Roxana's son, and of Arrhi- 
dceus, the half-brother of Alexander. But Perdiccas soon found 
that each general was disposed to be in fact a king in his own 
dominion. He formed the plan of seizing the empire for himself. 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 11/ 

This combined the satraps against him. Perdiccas was supported 
by his friend Einnenes, but had against him Antipater and Cra- 
tcnis, the other regents, and the powerful governors, Ptolemy Lagi 
in Egypt, and Antigojius in Phrygia, Lycia, and Pamphiha (322 
B.C.). There followed a series of wars lasting for twenty-two 
years, involving numerous changes of sovereignty, and fresh par- 
titions of territory. The rebellious satraps triumphed over the 
royalists, whose aim was to keep the empire intact for the family 
of Alexander. The ambition of Antigonus to make himself the 
sole ruler, led to a league against him (315 B.C.). In a treaty of 
peace, Cassander, the son of Antipater, was to retain the govern- 
ment of Macedonia. By him Roxana and the young Alexander 
were put to death. In a second war against Antigonus, in which, 
as before, he was supported by his son, Demetrius Potior cetes, they 
were completely defeated in the battle of Ipsiis, in Phrygia (301 
B.C.). Antigonus was slain : Demetrius fled to Greece. The re- 
sult of this protracted contest was, that the Macedonian empire was 
broken into three principal states, — Macedonia under the An tigo- 
nidce, the descendants of Antigonus ; Egypt under the Ptolemies ; 
Syria under the Seleucida;. Besides these, there were the smaller 
kingdoms of Pergamon and of Bithynia. Other states broke off 
from the Syrian realm of the Seleucidae. 

I. THE KE>JGDOM OF THE PTOLEMIES. 

Ptolemy Lagi (323-285 B.C.). — When ^/i?:*:^!;?//,?;- transferred the 
seat of power in Egypt from Memphis to Alexandria, he accom- 
plished results which he could not at all foresee. The Greek ele- 
ment became predominant in Egyptian affairs. A great stimulus 
was given to commerce and to foreign intercourse. The Egyptians 
themselves entered zealously into industrial pursuits. Ptolemy Lagi 
(Soter) , the first of the new sovereigns, was wise enough to guard 
his own territory, and even to establish his rule in Palestine, Phxni- 
cia, and Co:le-Syria, but to avoid extensive schemes of conquest. 
Cyrenaica, on the west of Egypt, and the intermediate Lybian 
tribes, he subdued. Ptolemy was an absolute monarch, but he 
retained prominent features in the old Egyptian administrative 
system, gave offices to Egyptians, and protected their religion. The 
most important civil stations and all military offices were reserved 
for Grseco- Macedonians : Alexandria was a Greek city. From the 
beginning he fostered learning and science. He set to work to 
collect a great library in a building connected with his palace. He 
founded the Museum, which was a college of professors. It at- 
tracted a great body of students, and became the university of the 
eastern world. Under the patronage of Ptolemy, mathematicians, 
poets, and critics of high repute flourished. Among the structures 



Il8 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

raised by him were the hghthouse of vast height on the island of 
Pharos, which was connected with the shore by a mole, or cause- 
way, a mile in length ; the Soma, or mausoleum, containing the 
\iO&^ oi Alexander ; the Teitiple of Serapis, completed by his son; 
and the Hippodrome. 

Ptolemy Philadelphus. — Ptolemy II., surnamed Philadelphus 
(285-247 B.C.), with less talent for war than his father, did much 
to encourage commerce, and was especially active in his patronage 
of learning. In this last province he did a greater work than his 
father. He greatly enlarged the library. He drew learned men to 
his court from all directions. In his time the Hebrew scriptures 
were translated into Greek, in the version called the Septuagint. 
Under his auspices Manetho composed his History of Egypt. 

Ptolemy Euergetes. — Ptolemy HI. (247-222 B.C.), surnamed 
Euergetes (the benefactor) , was the most enterprising and aggres- 
sive of this line of monarchs. Most of his conquests were not per- 
manent, but some of them were. He was a patron of art and of 
literature. He raised Egypt to the highest pitch of prosperity 
that she ever enjoyed. The first three Ptolemies whose reigns had 
covered a century, were followed by a series of incompetent and 
depraved kings, nine in number. 

Ptolemy IV. (Philopator) (222-205 B.C.) was a weak and dissolute prince. In war with 
Antiochus HI. (the Greatl of Syria, he saved his kingdom; but his own subjects were rebel- 
lious and disaffected. Ptolemy VI. (Philometor) (181-148 B.C.) was a boy at his accession. 
His guardians engaged in war with Syria, which would have conquered Egypt but for the inter- 
position of the Romans in his behalf (170 B.C.). 

II. MACEDON AND GREECE. 

When Alexander was in the far East, the Spartan king, Agis HI. 
(330 B.C.), headed a revolt against Antipater ; but Agis was 
vanquished and slain. The death of Alexander kindled the hope 
of regaining hberty among patriotic Greeks. Athens, under De- 
mosthenes and Hyperides, led the way. A large confederacy was 
formed. Leostlienes, the Greek commander, defeated Antipater, 
and shut him up within the walls of Lamia (in Thessaly). But 
the Greeks were finally beaten at Crannon. Favorable terms were 
granted to their cities, except Athens and ^tolia. Twenty-one 
thousand citizens were deported from Athens to Thrace, Italy, and 
other places. The nine thousand richest citizens, with Phocion 
at their head, the anti-democratic party, had all power left in 
their hands. Demosthenes, Hyperides, and other democratic lead- 
ers, were proscribed. Demosthenes took refuge in the temple of 
Neptune, on the little island of Calaurea. Finding himself pur- 
sued by Archias, the officer of Antipater, he took poison, which he 
had kept by him in a quill, and died. Thus closed the Hfe of an 
intrepid statesman who had served the cause of liberty and of his 
country through the direst perils and trials with unfaltering con- 



GRECIAN HISTORY. I T9 

stancy. The democracy again acquired power temporarily, and 
Phocion was condemned to death. 

Cassattdcr, excluded from the Macedonian throne by his father, Antipater, supplanted 
Polysperclioii, the regent (316 B.C.)- He placed Demetrius oi Phaleron in power at Athens 
over a democracy with restricted prerogatives. He was driven out by Demeiriiis Poliorceies, 
who was helped by Athens lo possess himself of Macedonia and of the most of Greece, but was 
compelled (287 B.C.) to give up his throne, which, however, was gained by his .son, Aiitigo- 
nus Gonatas (277 B.C.). 

The Achaean League. — In 279 B.C., there occurred an irrup- 
tion of the Gauls into Greece, " one of those vast waves of mi- 
gration which from time to time sv/eep over the world." The 
Macedonian king, Ptolemy Cerawniis, was defeated by them in a 
great battle, captured, and put to death. It was two years before 
these marauders were driven out, and Macedonia acquired a 
settled government. This episode in history favored the growth 
of two leagues — the Achczan League and the ^tolian League. 
In these leagues the several cities gave up to the central council 
much more power than Greek cities had been in the habit of 
granting in former unions. The Achaean League was at first made 
up of ten Achaean cities. About 240 B.C. Aratus of Sicyon, who 
had brought Sicyon into the league, delivered Corijith from the 
Macedonians. To free Greek cities from subjection to them, was 
long a great object of the league. Peloponnesus, except Sparta, 
with Athens and ^gina, joined it. 

The JEtolian League : War of the Leagues. — The rough ^to- 
lians north of the Corinthian Gulf, semi-barbarous in their mode 
of life, formed another league, and got command of Phocis, 
Locris, and Bceotia. A praiseworthy attempt at reform was made 
in Sparta by the king, Agis IV. (240 B.C.), who was opposed by 
the rich, and put to death. Cleomenes, his successor, who had the 
same spirit as Agis, engaged in conflict with the Achaean League, 
which then called in Macedonian help (223 B.C.). It had to give 
up to Macedon the Corinthian citadel. Sparta was overthrown. 
Soon a war between the two leagues broke out, when the Achaeans 
again called on the Macedonians for aid. These conflicts were 
followed by the interference of the Romans. 

The Evil of Faction. — The bane of Greece, from the beginning 
to the end of its history, was the suicidal spirit of disunion. Her 
power was splintered at many crises, when, if united, it might 
have saved the land from foreign tyranny. Her resources were 
drained, generation after generation, by needless local contests. 
She owed her downfall to the desolating influence of faction. 

III. THE SYRIAN KINGDOM. 

Scleucus I. (Nicator) (312-280 B.C.) was the founder of the 
Syrian kingdom. From Babylon he extended his dominion to 
the Black Sea, to the Jaxartes, and even to the Ganges, so far as 



I20 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

to make the Indian prince, Sandracottiis, acknowledge him as suze- 
rain. From Babylon he removed his capital to Antioch on the 
Orontes, which he founded, — a city destined to be the rival of 
Alexandria among the cities of the East. The effect of this re- 
moval, however, was to loosen his hold upon the Eastern provinces 
of his empire. Seleticia, on the west bank of the Tigris, he like- 
wise founded, which became a great commercial city, but was 
outstripped later by the Parthian city opposite, Ctesiphon. The 
provinces beyond the Euphrates he committed to his son, Antio- 
chus. With him (Antiochus I.) begins the decline of the empire 
through the influence of Oriental luxury and vice. Under him Syria 
lost the eastern part of Asia Minor through the invading Gauls, 
who converted northern Phrygia into Galatia, while north-western 
Lydia became the kingdom oi Pergatnon. Antiochus II. (261-246 
B.C.) could not hold the provinces in subjection. The Parthian 
and Bactrian kingdoms began under his reign. Antiochus III. 
(the Great) (223-187 B.C.) checked the Parthians and Bactrians, 
and expelled the Egyptians from Asia, but prepared for the down- 
fall of the Syrian Empire by provoking the hostility of the 
Romans. 

Bactria, Parthia, Pergamon, Galatia. — ^a^^'rfVz, after it broke oft" from Syria, 
was under Greek princes until, having been weakened by the Parthians, it was conquered by 
the Scythians (134 B.C.;. The jParifAzawj issued, as marauders, from the north border of /rrtw 
(256 B.C.), under the Arsacidce. They gradually acquired civilization from contact with 
Greek culture, especially after they established the trading-city of Ctesiphon. About 200 B.C. 
the rulers of Pontus made the Greek city of Sinope their residence, and attained to a high &s- 
gree of strength under vl/z'Mr/i^a/i'j I' I. (the Great). Pergamon became a flourishing state 
under the Greek rule of Attahts I. (241 B.C.). It was famed for its wealth and its trade. 
Etunenes II. (197-159 B.C.) founded the library at Pergamon. For him parchment was im- 
proved, if not invented, the Egyptians having forbidden the exportation of papyrus. Galatia 
was so named from the swarm of Gallic invaders (about 279 B.C.), who, after incursions in the 
East, which were continued for forty years, settled there, and by degrees yielded to the influences 
of Greek culture. 

Palestine: the Maccabees; the Idumaean Princes. — Palestine 
fared comparatively well in the times when the Ptolemies had con- 
trol. Not so after it fell under the permanent sway of Syria. 
The Jews were surrounded and invaded by Gentilism. On three 
sides, there were Greek cities. The perils to which their religion 
was exposed by the heathen without, and by a lukewarm party 
within, made earnest Jews, the bulk of the people, more inflexible 
in their adherence to their law and customs. The party of the 
Pharisees grew out of the intensity of the loyal and patriotic feel- 
ing which was engendered in the periods following the exile. The 
synagogues, centers of worship and of instruction scattered over 
the land, acted as a bulwark against the intrusion of heathen doc- 
trine and heathen practices. The resistance to these dreaded 
evils came to a head when the Syrian ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes., 
embittered by his failures in conflict with Egypt, resolved to break 
down religious barriers among his subjects, and, for this end, to 
exterminate Jewish worship. In i68 B.C. he set up an altar to 



GRECIAN HISTORY. 121 

Jupiter in the temple at Jerusalem, and even compelled Jewish 
priests to immolate swine. Then the revolt broke out in which 
the family of Maccabees were the heroic leaders. Judas Macca- 
bcBus recovered the temple, but fell in battle ( i6o B.C.) . Under his 
brother Simon, victory was achieved, and the independence of the 
nation secured. The chief power remained in the hands of this 
family, the Asmoncean princes, until their degeneracy paved the 
way for Roman intervention under Pompeius. His adviser was the 
Jdumcean, Antipater, a Jewish proselyte, whose son Herod was 
made king (39 B.C.). 

Philosophy : The Stoics and the Epicureans. — In the Greek 

world the progress of investigation and reflection tended to prodnce dis- 
belief in the old mythological system. Social confusion and degeneracy 
tended to undermine all religious faith. Pyrrho (about 330 B.C.) brought 
forward the skeptical doctrine, that the highest wisdom is to doubt every 
thing. Eithemerits (315 B.C.) interpreted the whole mythology as an exag- 
geration, by imagination and invention, of historical events which form its 
slender nucleus. With the loss of liberty and the downfall of the Greek 
states, philosophy became, so to speak, more cosmopolitan. It no longer 
exalted, in the same narrow spirit, the Greek above the barbarian. It 
looked at mankind more as one community. This was a feature of the first 
of the two principal sects, the Stoics, of whom Zeno (about 330 B.C.), and 
Chrysippus (280-207 B.C.) were the founders. They taught that virtue is 
the only good ; that it consists in living according to nature ; that reason 
should be dominant, and tranquillity of spirit be maintained by the complete 
subjugation of feeling. The emotions are to be kept down by the force of 
an iron will. This is the Stoic apathy. The world is wisely ordered: what- 
ever is, is right ; yet the Cause of all things is not personal. Mankind form 
one great community, " one city." The Epicureans, the second of the 
prominent sects, — so called from Epicurus, their founder (342-270 B.C.), — 
made pleasure the chief good, which is to be secured by prudence, or such a 
regulation of our desires as will yield, on the whole, the largest fruit of 
happiness. They believed that the gods exist, but denied Providence. 

Culture. — In the Greek cities which were founded by the Macedo- 
nians, the political life and independence which Greece had enjoyed did 
not exist. The " Hellenistic" literature and culture, as it is called, which 
followed, lacked the spontaneous energy and original spirit of the old time. 
The civilization was that of people not exclusively Greek in blood. Alex- 
andria Viz.?) its chief seat. Poetry languished. \t \v3.s prose — and prose in 
the form of learned inqtiiries, criticism, and science — that flourished. The 
path was the same as that marked out by Aristotle. Theocritus, born in Syra- 
cuse, or Cos, under Ptoletny I. (about 320 B.C.), had distinction as a pastoral 
or bucolic ])oet. Euclid, under Ptoletny Soter, systemized geometry. Archi- 
medes, who died in 212 B.C., is said to have invented the screw, and was skill- 
ful in mechanics. Eratosthenes founded descriptive astronomy and scientific 
chronology. "The Alexandrian age busied itself with literary or scientific re- 
search, and with setting in order what the Greek mind had done in its creative 
time." After Greece became subject to Rome (146 B.C.) the Grcsco-Roman 
/i?r;ort' in Greek literature begins. The Greek historian Polybius stands on 
the border between the Alexandrian age and this next era. He was born 
about 210 B.C., and died about 128 B.C. 

Literature. — Works mentioned on p. 16: Histories of Greece by Grote (12 vols.) 
(democratic in his sympathies), E. Curtius (5 vols ), Thirlwall (8 vols.), W. Smith (i vol.), 
G. W. Cox. 'Buso\x.,Griec'iische Gcschichte ; FyRe, Hisiory 0/ Greece {pnmevr, Duncker, 
History op Greece [separalely pxihl'ishedl; Abbott ^ 2 vols.); Holm (.4 vols.] ; Bury; Oraan. 



122 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

On special periods: The writings of the ancient authors, — Herodotus (Rawlinson's trans- 
lation, 4 vols.), Xenophon, Thucydides (Jowett's translation, 2 vols.), Polybius, Plutarch's 
Lives. Schafer, Demosthenes mid seine Zeit (3 vols.); Droysen, Geschichte dcs Helle- 
nismtis (3 vols.) ; E. A. Freeman, History of Federal Go%ier?iment (vol. i.) ; Finlay, His- 
tory of Greece from the Couqtiest of the Romans (7 vols.) ; G. W. Cox, History of Greece 
from the Earliest Period to the End 0/ the Persian War (2 vols.), and Lives of Greek 
Statesinen (1 vol.) ; Freeman, History 0/ Sicily (4 vols.). 

On special topics: Boeckh, The Public Economy of Alliens; Coulanges, The Ancient 
City. etc. : Goll, Kulturbilder ans Hellas mid Rom (3 vols.) ; Guhl and Koner, The Life 
of the Greeks and Romans, etc.; Green, Greece and Greek Antiquities (primer); J. P. 
Mahaffy, Social Life in Greece, also Rambles in Greece, Old Greek Education, and His- 
tory of Greek Literature (2 vols.) ; Becker, Charicles (a story illustrative of Greek life) ; 
F. A. Paley, Greek Wit (2 vols.) ; Church, Stories from Homer; Black, The Wise Men of 
Greece; Neares, Greek Anthology [in Ancient Classics for English Readers], Chief Ancient 
Philosophies [Stoicism, etc.] (i vol., 1880); Miiller and Vton^M&ow, History of the Litera- 
ttire of Ancient Greece (3 vols.); Mure, A Critical History of the Language and Lit- 
erature of Ancient Greece (5 vols.); Jebb, Attic Orators (2 vols.); Symonds, The Greek 
Poets (2 vols.); G. F. Schomann, The Antiquities of Greece; Gladstone, Studies oti the 
Homeric Age and Homer; LUbke, Outlines of the History of Art; Fkrcvsson, History 
of Architecture ; Vl'Xn\ers, Elemejiiary History of Art ; Botsford. Developmeiit of the 
Athenian Constitution; W. W. Fowler, The City-State of the Greeks and Romans; 
Gilbert, Constitutio7ial Antiquities of Sparta and Athens ; Greenidge, Handbook of 
Greek Constitutional History; H. N. Fowler, History of Greek Literature ; Marshall, 
Short History of Greek Philosophy ; Gardner, Handbook of Greek Sculpture ; Tarbell, 
History of Greek Art; Tozer, Primer of Classical Geography ; Kiepert, Atlas Anti- 
quus ; Cunningham, Western Civilization *vol. i.r. Smith (Wayte & Marindin), Diction- 
ary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (2 vols., 1890); Seyfifert (Nettleship and Sandys), 
Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. 



GRECIAN IIISTOKV. 



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Section II. 
ROMAN HISTORY. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Place of Rome in History. — Rome is the bridge which unites, 
while it separates, the ancient and the modern world. The his- 
tory of Rome is the narrative of the building up of a single City, 
whose dominion gradually spread until it comprised all the coun- 
tries about the Mediterranean, or what were then the civilized 
nations. "In this great empire was gathered up the sum total 
that remained of the religions, laws, customs, languages, letters, 
arts, and sciences of all the nations of antiquity which had succes- 
sively held sway or predominance." Under the system of Roman 
government and Roman law they were combined in one ordered 
community. It was out of the wreck of the ancient Roman Em- 
pire that the modern European nations were formed. Their like- 
ness to one another, their bond of fellowship, is due to the heritage 
of laws, customs, letters, religion, which they have received in 
common from Rome. 

The Inhabitants of Ancient Italy. — Until a late period in Ro- 
man history, the Apennines, and not the Alps, were the northern 
boundary of Italy. The most of the region between the Alpine 
range and the Apennines, on both sides of the Po, was inhabited 
by Gauls, akin to the Celts of the same name north of the Alps. 
On the west of Gallia were the LigiaHans, a rough people of un- 
known extraction. People thought to be of the same race as the 
Ligurians dwelt in Sardinia and in Corsica, and in a part oi Sicily. 
On the east of Gallia were the Venetians, whose lineage is not 
ascertained. The Apennines branch off from the Alps in a south- 
easterly direction until they near the Adriatic, when they turn to 
the south, and descend to the extreme point of the peninsula, thus 
forming the backbone of Italy. On the west, in the central por- 
tion of the peninsula, is the hilly district called by the ancients, 
Etruria (now Tuscany), and the plains oi Latium and Campania. 
What is now termed Campania, the district about Rome, is a part 
of ancient Latium. The Etrurians differed widely, both in ap- 
pearance and in language, from the Romans. They were not 
124 



ROMAN HISTORY. I25 

improbably Aryans, but nothing more is known of their descent. 
In the east, in what is now Calabria, and in Apulia, there was 
another people, the lapygians, whose origin is not certain, but who 
were not so far removed from the Greeks as from the Latins. The 
southern and south-eastern portions of the peninsula were the seat 
of the Greek settlements, and the country was early designated 
Great Greece. Leaving out the Etrurians, lapygians, and Greeks, 
Italy, south of Gallia, was inhabited by nations allied to one an- 
other, and more remotely akin to the Greeks. These Italian 
nations were divided into an eastern and a western stock. The 
western stock, the Latins, whose home was in Latium, were much 
nearer of kin to the Greeks than were the eastern. The eastern 
stock comprised the Umbrians and the Oscans. It included the 
Sabines, Samnites, and Lucanians. 

We are certain, that, " from the common cradle of peoples and languages, there issued a 
stock which embraced in common the ancestors of the Greeks and the Italians, that from this, 
at a subsequent period, the Italians branched off; and that these divided again into the western 
and eastern stocks, while, at a still later date, the eastern became subdivided into Umbrians 
and Oscans." (Mommsen's History of Rome, vol. i., p. 36.) 

Italy and Greece. — In two important points, Italy is geographi- 
cally distinguished from Greece. The sea-coast of Italy is more 
uniform, not being broken by l:)ays and harbors ; and it is not cut 
up, like Greece, by chains of mountains, into small cantons. The 
Romans had not the same inducement to become a sea-faring 
people ; there were fewer cities ; there was an opportunity for 
closer and more extended leagues. It is remarkable that the out- 
lets of Greece were towards the east ; those of Italy towards the 
west. The two nations were thus averted from one another : they 
were, so to speak, back to back. 

The Greeks and Romans. — The Greeks and Romans, although 
sprung from a common ancestry, and preserving common features 
in their language, and to some extent in their religion, were very 
diverse in their natural traits. The Greeks had more genius : the 
Romans more stability. In art and letters the Romans had little 
originality. In these provinces they were copyists of the Greeks : 
they lacked ideality. They had, also, far less delicacy of percep- 
tion, flexibility, and native refinement of manners. But they had 
more sobriety of character and more endurance. They were a 
disciplined people ; and in their capacity for discipline lay the 
secret of their supremacy in arms and of their ability to give law 
to the world. If they produced a much less number of great men 
than the Greeks, there was more widely diffused among Roman 
citizens a conscious dignity and strength. The Roman was natu- 
rally ^r^zz'^ .• the fault of the Greek was le%iity. Versatility belonged 
to the Greek : virility to the Roman. Above all, the sense of right 
and of justice was stronger among the Romans. They had, in an 
eminent degree, the political instinct, the capacity for governing, 



126 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

and for building up a political system on a firm basis. This trait 
was connected with their innate reverence for authority, and their 
habit of obedience. The noblest product of the Latin mind is the 
Roinan laiv, which is the foundation of almost all modern codes. 
With all their discernment of justice and love of order, the Ro- 
mans, however, were too often hard and cruel. Their history is 
stained here and there with acts of unexampled atrocity. In pri- 
vate life, too, when the rigor of self-control gave way, they sunk 
into extremes of vulgar sensuality. If, compared with the Greeks, 
they stood morally at a greater height, they might fall to a lower 
depth. 

The Roman Religion. — The difference between the Greek and 
Roman mind was manifest in the sphere of religion. Before their 
separation from one another they had brought from the common 
hearthstone elements of worship which both retained. Jupiter, 
like Zeus, was the old Aryan god of the shining sky. But the 
Greek conception, even of the chief deity, differed from the Roman. 
When the Romans came into intercourse with the Greeks, they 
identified the Greek divinities with their own, and more and more 
appropriated the tales of the Greek mythology, linking them to 
their own deities. Of the early worship peculiar to the Romans, 
we know but Uttle. But certain traits always belonged to the Ro- 
man religion. Their mood was too prosaic to invent a theogony, 
to originate stories of the births, loves, and romantic adventures 
of the gods, such as the Greek fancy devised. The Roman myths 
were heroic, not religious : they related to the deeds of valiant 
men. Their deities were, in the first place, much more abstract, 
less vividly conceived, less endowed with distinct personal charac- 
teristics. And, secondly, their service to the gods was more punc- 
tilious and methodical. It was regulated, down to the minutiae, by 
fixed rules. Worship was according to law, was something due to 
the gods, and was discharged, like any other debt, exactly, and 
at the proper time. The Roman took advantage of technicalities 
in dealing with his gods : he was legal to the core. The word reli- 
gion had the same root as obligation. It denoted the bondage or 
service owed by man to the gods in return for their protection and 
favor ; and hence the anxiety, or scrupulous watchfulness against 
the omission of what is required to avert the displeasure of the 
powers above. 

Origin of the Romans. — The Romans attributed their origin to 
the mythical ySneas, who fled, with a band of fugitives, from the 
flames of Troy, and whose son, Ascanius, or lulus, settled in Alba 
Longa, in Latium. What is known of the foundation of Rome is, 
that it was a settlement of Latin farmers and traders on the group 
of hills, seven in number, near the border of Latium, on the Tiber. 
It was the head of navigation for small vessels, and Rome was at 



ROMAN HISTORY. 12/ 

first, it would seem, the trading-village for the exchange of the 
products of the farming-district in which it was placed. Such an 
outpost would be useful to guard Latium against the Etrurians 
across the river. Of the three townships, or clans, which united to 
form Rome, — \\\q Ranines, the Titles, and the Luceres, — the first 
and third were Latin. The second, which was Sa/?i?ie, blended with 
the Roman element, as the language proves. The clans, or tribes, 
in Latium together formed a league, the central meeting-place of 
which was at first Alba Longa. There is some reason to think 
that the Sabines were from Cures near Rome. Certain it is that 
Rome, even at the outset, derived its strength from a combination 
of tribes. 



Period I. 
ROME UNDER THE KINGS AND THE PATRICIANS. 

(753-304 B.C.) 



CHAPTER I. 

ROME UNDER THE KINGS (753-509 B.C.). 

Character of the Legends. — There is no doubt that the Romans 
hved for a time under the rule of kings. These were not like the 
Greek kings, hereditary rulers, nor were they chosen from a single 
family. But the stories told in later times respecting the kings, 
their names and doings, are quite unworthy of credit. They rest 
upon no contemporary evidence or sure tradition. To say nothing 
of the miraculous elements that enter into the narratives, they are 
laden v/ith other improbabilities, which prove them to be the fruit 
of imagination. They contain impossibilities in chronology. They 
ascribe laws, institutions, and religion, which were of slow growth, 
to particular individuals, apportioning to each his own part in an 
artificial way. Many of the stories are borrowed from the Greeks, 
and were originally told by them about other matters. In short, 
the Roman legends, including dates, such as are recorded in this 
chapter, are fabrications to fill up a void in regard to which there 
was no authentic information, and to account for beliefs and cus- 
toms the origin of which no one knew. They are of sendee, 
however, in helping us to ascertain the character of the Roman 
constitution, and something about its growth, in the prehistoric 
age. 

The Legendary Tales. — Romulus and Remus, so the legend runs, were 
sons of the god Mars by Rhea Silvia, a priestess of Vesta, whose father, 
Numitor, had been slain by his wicked brother, Amulius, who thereby made 
himself king of Alba Longa. The twins, by his command, were put into a 
basket, and thrown into the Tiber. The cradle was caught by the roots of 
a fig-tree : a she-wolf came out, and suckled them, and Faustuhts, a shepherd, 
brought them up as his own children. Romulus grew up, and slew the usurper, 
Amulius. The two brothers founded a city on the banks of the Tiber where 
they had been rescued (753 B.C.). In a quarrel, the elder killed the younger, 
and called the city after himself, Ro7na. Romulus, to increase the number of 
the people, founded an asylum on the Capitoline Hill, which gave welcome to 
robbers and fugitives of all kinds. There was a lack of women ; but, by a 
128 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 29 

cunning trick, the Romans seized on a large numljer of Sabine women, who 
had been decoyed to Rome, with their fathers and brothers, to see the games. 
The angry Sab'ines invaded Rome. Tarpcia, the daughter of the Roman cap- 
tain, left open for them a gate into the Capitoline citadel, and so they won 
the Capitol. In the war that followed, by the intervention of the Sabine 
women, the Romans and Sabines agreed to live peaceably together as citizens 
of one town, under Romulus and the Sabine, Tatius. After the death of 
Tatius, Roviiiliis reigned alone, and framed laws for the two peoples. During 
a thunder-storm he was translated to the skies, and worshiped as the god 
Qiiiriiius (716 B.C.). After a year Niima Pompilnts, a Sabine, was elected 
king {715-673 B.C.). He stood in close intercourse with the gods, was full 
of wisdom and of the spirit of peace. He framed the religious system, with 
its various offices and rites. The gates of the temple of Janus, closed only 
in peace, were shut during his mild reign. He died of old age, without ill- 
ness or pain. The peaceful king was followed by the warlike king, Tullus 
Hostilius (673-641 B.C.). War breaks out with Alba. The two armies face 
each other, and the contest is decided by the single combat of the three 
Horatii, champions of the Romans, and the three Curiatii, champions of Alba. 
One Roman, the victor and sole survivor, is led to Rome in triumph. Thus 
Alba became subject to Rome. Afterwards Alba was destroyed, but the 
Albans became Roman citizens. The fourth king, Ancus Marcius (641-616 
B.C.), loved peace, but could not avoid war. He fought against four Latin 
towns, brought their inhabitants to Rome, and planted them on the Aventine 
hill. He fortified the hill Janiailum, on the right bank of the Tiber, and 
connected it by a wooden bridge with the town. The next king was by birth 
an Etruscan. Liuiimo and his wife, Tanaquil., emigrated to Rome. Lucumo 
took the name of Lucius Tarquinius, was stout, valiant, and wise, a counselor 
of Ancus, and chosen after him, instead of one of the sons of Ancus, whose 
guardian he was. Tarquinius Priscus (616-578 B.C.) — for so he was called 
— waged successful wars with the Sabines, Latins, and Etruscans. The 
Etruscans owned him for their king, and sent a crown of gold, a scepter, an 
ivory chair, an embroidered tunic, a purple toga, and twelve axes in as many 
bundles of rods. He made a reform of the laws. He built the temple of 
Jupiter, or the Capitol, laid out the forum for a market-place, made a great 
sewer to drain the lower valleys of the city, leveled a race-course between 
the Aventine and Palatine hills, and introduced games like those of the 
Etruscans. Tarquinius was killed by the sons of Ancus ; and Servius Tullius 
(578-534 B.C.), the son of Ocrisia, a slave-woman, and of a god, was made 
king through the devices of Tanaquil. He united the seven hills, and built the 
wall of Rome. He remodeled the constitution by the census and the division 
of the centuries. Under him Rome joined the Latin league. He was mur- 
dered by his flagitious son-in-law, Tarquinius Siiperbus (534-510 B.C.) — 
Tarquin the Proud. He ruled as a despot, surrounding himself with a body- 
guard, and, upon false accusation, inflicting death on citizens whose property 
he coveted. By a treacherous scheme, he got possession of the town of 
Gabii. He waged war against the Volscians, a povverful people on the south 
of Latium. He adorned Rome with many buildings, and lived in pomp and 
extravagance, while the people were impoverished and helpless. The in- 
spired Sibyl of CumcE offered him, through a messenger, nine books of 
prophecies. The price required excited his scorn, whereupon the woman who 
brought them destroyed three. She came back with the remaining six, which 
she offered at the same price. On being refused in the same manner, she 
destroyed another three. This led Tarquin to pay the price when she ap- 
peared the third time with the books that were left. They were carefully 
preserved to the end, that in times of danger the will of the gods might be 
learned. Another story told of the haughty king was, that, when he had 
grown old, and was frightened by dreams and omens, he sent his two sons to 
consult the oracle at Delphi. With them went his sister's son, Junius, who 



I30 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

was called Brutus on account of his supposed silliness, which was really 
feigned to deceive the tyrant. The offering which he brought to the Delphian 
god was a simple staff. His cousins, who laughed at him, did not know that 
it was stuffed with gold. The god, in answer to a question, said that he would 
reign at Rome who should first kiss his mother. Briihis divined the sense of 
the oracle, pretended to stumble, and kissed the mother earth. The cruel 
outrage of Sexttis Tai'qidnhis, the king's son, of which Lucretia, the wife of 
their cousin, was the pure and innocent victim, caused the expulsion of the 
house of Tarquin, and the abolishing of regal government. Her father and 
husband, with Brutus and the noble Piiblhis Valerius Poplicola, to whom she 
related "the deed of shame" wrought by Sextus, swore, at her request, to 
avenge her wrong. She herself plunged a dagger into her heart, and expired. 
Brutjis roused the people, and drove out the Tarqiiins. Two co7isuls were 
appointed in the room of the king, who should rule for one year. Brutus 
was one. When it was ascertained that his own sons had taken part in 
a conspiracy of the higher class to restore Tarqumius, the stern Roman gave 
orders to the lictors to scourge them, and to cut off their heads with the ax. 
Now the senate and people decreed that the whole race of Tarquinius should 
be banished for ever. Tarquinius went among the Etruscans, and secured the 
aid of the people of Tarquinii, and of Veil. In a battle, Aruiis, the son of 
Tarquinius, and Brutus, both mounted, ran upon one another, and were 
slain. Each army marched to its home. Tarquinius then obtained the help 
of Porsena, king of the Etruscans, with a strong army. They took Janicu- 
bim ; but Horathis Codes, with two companions, posted himself at the entrance 
of the bridge, and kept the place, Horatius remaining until the bridge had 
been torn away behind him. He then, with his armor on, leaped into the 
river, and swam back to the shore. The town was hard pressed by the 
enemy and by famine. Mucins Sccevola went into Porseua's camp, resolved 
to kill him. But he slew another whom he mistook for the king. When 
threatened with death, he thrust his right hand into the fire, to show that he 
had no fear. Porse7ia, admiring his courage, gave him his freedom ; and, on 
being informed that three hundred young Romans were sworn to undertake 
the same deed which Mucins had come to perform, Porsena made peace 
without requiring the restoration of Tarquinius. Tarquinius, not despairing, 
persuaded the Tusculans and other Latins to begin war against Rome. The 
Romans appointed a dictator to meet the exigency, Marcus Valerius. In a 
battle near Lake Regillus, when the Romans began to give way, the dictator 
invoked Castor and Polhcx, vowing to dedicate a temple to them in case he 
was victorious. Two young men on white chargers appeared at the head of 
the Roman troops, and led them to victory. Tarqitiiiius now gave up his 
effort, and went to Cwnce to the tyrant Aristodemus, where he lived until his 
death. 

Truth in the Legends. — There are certain facts which are em- 
bedded in the legends. Alba was at one time the head of the 
Latin confederacy. The Sabines invaded Latium, settled on some 
of the hills of Rome, allied themselves with the Roma7is, and 
the two peoples were resolved into one federal state. This last 
change was a very important step. The tradition of a doubling 
of the senate and of two kings, Rotnuhis and Taims, although not 
in literal form historical, is believed to be a reminiscence of this 
union. It is thought that the earliest royalty was priestly in its 
character, and that this was superseded by a military kingship. It 
is probable that the Etruscans who had made much progress in 
civilization, in the arts and in manufactures, gained the upper 



ROMAN HISTORY. 13 I 

hand in Latium. The insignia of the Roman kings were Etniscan. 
The Etruscan kings were driven out. There were advances in civ- 
ilization under them, the division of the people into classes took 
place, and at that period structures like the " Servian " wall were 
built. 

Patricians and Plebeians. — The Romans from the beginning 
were divided into the upper class, the Patriciajis, and the com- 
mon people, or Plebeians, who were free, but, like the periaci and 
7netoeci in Greece, had no political rights. The plebeians, as they 
included the conquered class, were not all poor. A part of them, 
who were under the special protection of citizens, their Patrons, 
were called Clients. The patricians were the descendants of the 
first settlers and proprietors. Under the old constitution, as- 
cribed in the legends to Romulus, the patricians alone formed 
the military force, and were styled the Populiis. They were 
divided into curia (districts or wards), at first ten in number, and, 
after the union of the Romans with the Titles and Luceres, thirty. 
Each curia was divided into ten families, or gentes. The assem- 
bly of the citizens was called the Comitia Curiata. The Camitia 
chose the King. The Senate was a council of elders representing 
in some way the gentes. 

The clan, or gens, was always of great consequence among the Romans. Its name was a 
part of the proper name of every citizen. The particular or individual names in vogue were 
not numerous. The name of the gens was placed between the personal name, or the prcgno- 
men, and the designation of the special family (included in the gens). Thus in the case of 
Caius Julius Cssar, " Julius " was the designation of the gens, " Caesar," of the family, while 
" Caius " was the personal name. 

The Early Constitution. — The "Servian constitution" made 
all land-owners, whether patrician or plebeian, subject to taxation, 
and obliged to do military service. The cavalry — the Equites, or 
knights, — was made up, by adding to the six patrician companies 
already existing, double the number from both classes. The in- 
fantry were organized without reference to rank, but were graded 
according to their property. The whole people were divided thus 
into five classes, and, when assembled, formed the Comitia Cen- 
turiata, — as being made up of the companies called " centuries," 
or " hundreds." At first this body was only consulted by the king 
in regard to offensive wars. Gradually it drew away more and 
more power from the Comitia Curiata, which consisted solely of 
patricians. Those who had no land were now distinguished from 
the land-owning plebeians. For the purposes of conscription, the 
city was divided into four Tribes, or wards. Every four years a 
census was to be taken. 

Magistrates. — When the kingship was abolished, and under 
the system that followed, the two Consuls were to be patrician§. 
They exercised regal power during their term of oflfice. They ap- 
pointed the senators and the two Qucesiors, who came to have 



132 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

charge of the treasury, under consular supervision. The consuls 
were attended by twelve Lie tors, who carried iht fasces — bundles 
of rods fastened around an ax, — which symbolized the power 
of the magistrate to flog or to behead offenders. The Co7nitia 
Centuriata acquired the right to elect the consuls, to hear appeals 
in capital cases from their verdicts, and to accept or reject bills 
laid before it. This was a great gain for the plebeians. Yet the 
patricians were strong enough in this assembly to control its action. 
On occasions of extraordinary peril, a Dictator might be selected 
by one of the consuls, who was to have absolute authority for the 
time. The Senate commonly had an important part, however, in 
the selection of this officer. There was a Master of Horse to com- 
mand the knights under him. He was appointed by the dictator. 
Religion. — Worship in families was conducted by the head of 
the household, the paterfamilias, who offered the regular sacrifices. 
But, as regards the whole people, worship was under the direction 
of the pontiffs, with the chief pontiff, the Pontifex Maximus, at 
their head, and in the hands of the priests. These were all offi- 
cers of the state, elected to their places, and entirely subordinate 
to the civil magistrates. The pontiffs were not so much priests as 
they were guardians and interpreters of divine law. They were 
masters of sacred lore. They looked out that the numberless and 
complex rules in respect to religious observances should be strictly 
complied with. At the same time they had enough knowledge of 
astronomy to enable them to fix the days suitable for the transac- 
tion of business, public or private. They had the control of the 
calendar. The Augurs consulted the will of the gods as disclosed 
in omens. The augur, his eyes raised to the sky, with his staff 
marked off the heavens into four quarters, and then watched for 
the passage of birds, from which he took the auspices. In early 
times, there was an implicit faith in these supposed indications 
of the will of the divinities ; but this credulity passed away, and 
the auguries became a political instrument for helping forward the 
schemes of some person or party. Besides the college of pontiffs 
and the college of augurs, there was the college of Fetiales, who 
were the guardians of the public faith in relation to other peoples, 
and performed the rites attending the declaration of war or the 
conclusion of peace. The Soothsayers (haruspices) were of Etrus- 
can origin. They ascertained the will of the gods by inspecting the 
entrails of the slaughtered victims. The Flamens were the priests 
having charge of the worship of particular divinities. The Vestals 
were virgin priestesses of Vesta, who ministered in her temple, 
and kept the sacred fire from being extinguished. 

The chief gods worshiped by the Romans were Jicpiier, god of the sky; his wife, yuno, 
the goddess of maternity; Mhierva, the goddess of wisdom; Apollo, the god of augury and 
the arts; Diana, the goddess of the chase and archery; Mars, the god of war; Bellona, the 
goddess of war ; Vesia, patron of the Roman state and of the national hearthstone ; Ceres, the 



ROMAN HISTORY. 133 

goddess of agriculture; Saturnus, the patron of husbandry,' Hercules, the Greek god, early 
naturalized in Italy as the god of gain and of mercantile contracts; Mercury, the god of trade; 
Ncpttiite, god of the sea. Vonis v/as an old Roman goddess, who presided over gardens, but 
gradually was identified with the Grecian Aphrodite. Lares and Penates \ieLXi. household 
divinities, guardians of the family. 

The Romans assigned a spirit to almost every thing. Each individual had his own protect- 
ing genius. Janus was the god of beginnings, Terviitius was the god of the boundary, 
Silvanj<s of the forest, Vertuiinius of the circling year. The farmer, in each part of his 
labor, — in harrowing, plowing, sowing, etc., — invoked a spirit. So marriage, birth, and every 
natural event had each a sacred life of its own. Not less than forty-three distinct divinities 
are spoken of by name as having to do with the actions of a child. Thus the number of 
divinities was countless. Gods were great or small, according to the department of nature 
or of life where they severally were present and active. 



CHAPTER n. 

ROME UNDER THE PATRICIANS (509-304 B.C.). 

Rivalry of Classes. — The abolishing of royalty left Rome 
as " a house divided against itself." The power granted to the 
Comitia Centurlata did not suffice to produce contentment. The 
patricians still decided every thing, and used their strength in an 
oppressive way. Besides the standing contest between the patri- 
cians and plebeians, there was great suffering on the side of the 
poorer class of plebeians. Many were obliged to incur debts ; and 
their creditors enforced the rigorous law against them, loading 
them with chains, and driving their families from their homes. A 
great and constant grievance was the taking by the patricians of 
the public lands which had been obtained by conquest, for a mod- 
erate rent, which might not be paid at all. If they granted a 
share in this privilege to some rich plebeian houses, this afforded 
no help to the mass of the people, who were more and more 
deprived of the opportunity to till the smaller holdings in conse- 
quence of the employment of slaves. Yet the plebeians had to 
bear the burden of military service. At length they rose in a 
body, probably in returning from some victory, and encamped on 
a hill, the Sacred Mount, three miles from Rome, where they 
threatened to stay, and found another town. This bold move- 
ment led to an agreement. It was stipulated that they should 
elect magistrates from their own class, to be called Tribunes of the 
People, who should have the right to interpose an absolute veto 
upon any legal or administrative measure. This right each consul 
already had in relation to his colleague. To secure the commons 
in this new right, the tribunes were declared to be inviolable. 
Whoever used violence against them was to be an outlaw. The 
power of the tribunes at first was merely protective. But their 
power grew until it became controlling. One point where their 
authority was apt to be exerted was in the conscription, or military 
enrollment. This, if it were undertaken in an unfair way, they 
could stop altogether, and thus compel a change. 



134 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

The Plebeian Assembly. — Not far from this time, there was 
instituted a new assembly, the Cojjiitia of Tribes, or Comitia Tri- 
buta. There was a new division of the people into tribes or 
wards, — first twenty, then twenty-one, and, later, thirty-five. In 
this comitia, the plebeians were at the outset, if not always, the 
exclusive voters. The patricians had their assembly, the Comitia 
Curiata. The Comitia of the Tribes, which was then controlled 
by the plebeians, chose the tribunes. By degrees, both the other 
assemblies lost their importance. The plebeian body more and 
more extended its prerogatives. Besides the tribunes, the ^diles, 
two in number, who were assistants of the tribunes, and superin- 
tended the business of the markets, were chosen by the Comitia 
Tributa. 

The Law of Cassius. — The anxiety of the plebeians to be rid 
of the restrictions upon the holding and enjoyment of land, led to 
the proposal of a law for their relief by the consul Spurius Cas- 
sius (486 B.C.). Of the terms of the law, we have no precise 
knowledge. We only know, that, when he retired from office, he 
was condemned and put to death by the ruling class. 

"War with the ^quians and the Volscians. — About this time 
Rome concluded a league with the Latins^ and soon after with 
another people, the Heiviicans, who lived farther eastward, be- 
tween the /Equians and Volscians. It was a defensive alliance, in 
which Rome had the leading place. Then follow the wars with 
the ^qinans and Volscians, where the traditional accounts are 
mingled with many fictitious occurrences. There are two stories 
of special note, — the story of Coriolanus, and the story of Cincin- 
natus. It is related that a brave patrician, Cains Marcius Corio- 
lanus, at a time when grain was scarce, and was procured with 
difficulty from Etruria and Sicily for the relief of the famishing, 
proposed that it should be withheld from the plebeians unless they 
would give up the tribunate. The anger of this class, and the 
contempt which he showed for it, caused him to be banished. 
Thereupon he went to the Volscians, and led an army against 
Rome, — an army too strong to be resisted. One deputation after 
another went out of the city to placate him, but in vain. At 
length Veturia, his mother, and Volumnia, his wife, at the head 
of a company of matrons, went to his camp, and entreated him. 
Their prayer he could not deny, but exclaimed, " O my mother ! 
Rome thou hast saved, but thou hast lost thy son." He died 
among the Volscians (491 B.C.). The tale, certainly in most of 
its parts, is fictitious. For example, he is said to have been 
called Coriolanus, from having previously conquered Corioli ; 
but such designations were not given among the Romans until 
centuries later. The story of Cincinnatus in essential particulars 
is probably true. At a time when the Romans were hard pressed 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 35 

by the /Eqiiians, the messengers of the Senate waited on Lucius 
Quinctius Cinciunatus, formerly a senator and a consul of renown 
in peace and war, and asked him to become dictator. They 
found him plowing in his field. He accepted the post, by his 
prudence and vigor delivered the state, and on the sixteenth day 
laid down his office, and went back to his farm. The time re- 
quired by the hero for his task was doubtless much longer than the 
legend allows. 

There is an authentic tradition of a war with the Etruscans, who had retained certain 
towns on the Roman side of" the Tiber. The Romans established a fort on the Creiiiera, not 
far from Vci!, which was one of them. In the course of this struggle, it is said that all the 
Fabii, — a distinguished Roman family, — except one boy, were perfidiously slain. This is an 
exaggerated tale. A truce was concluded with V'eiiyn 474 B.C. for forty years, which left 
Rome free to fight her enemies on the east and south. 

The Decemvirs. — The internal conflict of the patricians against 
the commons in Rome went on. In 471 B.C. \he Fi/b/ilian Law 
was passed to establish fully the right of the plebeians alone to 
elect their tribunes, or to exclude the upper class from their comi- 
tia. The claims of the plebeians, who formed the greater part of 
the fighting men, rose. They demanded first, however, that they 
should have the same private rights as the patricians, and that the 
laws should be made more efficient for their protection by being 
reduced to a code. This was the object of the Terentilian Law, 
proposed in 462. The result was a great dispute. Some con- 
cessions failed to satisfy the plebeians. Finally it was agreed that 
ten men, Decemvirs, should be chosen indiscriminately from both 
classes to frame a code, they, meantime, to supersede the con- 
suls and tribunes in the exercise of the government (451 B.C.). 
They were to equalize the laws, and to write them down. The 
story of the mission to Athens for the study of the laws of Solon, 
is not worthy of credit. There is no doubt, however, that many 
obstacles were put in the way of the project by the conservative 
patricians, and that one of their order, Appius Claudius, took a 
prominent part, probably on the side of the people. 

Virginius. — Here comes in the story of Virginia. It is related that Appius Claudius 
was an ambitious and bad man, who, being one of the decemvirs, wished to hold on to power. 
He conceived a base passion for the daughter of I'irginius, a brave plebeian centurion, and 
claimed her on the pretense that she was the daughter of one of his slaves. Standing at his 
judgment-seat, / irgiiiius, seeing that he could do nothing to save his child from the clutch of 
the villainous judge, plunged his dagger in her heart. This was the signal for another revolt 
of the people, which extorted the consent of the upper class to the sacred laws and the restora- 
tion of the tribuneship. It is a plausible theory that Appius Claudius favored the plebeian 
claims, and that the tale told above is a later invention to his discredit. 

Political Equality. — The laws of the twelve tables lay at the 
basis of all subsequent legislation in Rome, and were always held 
in reverence. The plebeians soon gained further advantages. In 
449 B.C., it was ordained, tmder the consuls Horatius and Valerius, 
that the plebeian assembly of tribes should be a sovereign assembly, 
whose enactments should be binding on the whole Roman people. 
In 445 B.C., the law of Cauulcius legalized marriage between the 



136 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

plebeians and patricians. This was an important step towards the 
closer union of the two classes. The executive power was still 
in the hands of the patricians. But in 444 a new office, that of 
military tribunes with consular power, to be chosen from the ple- 
beians, was established. By way of offset to this great concession, 
a new patrician office, that of Censor, was created. The function 
of the two censors, who were to be chosen by the Comitia Centu- 
riata, was to take the census at short intervals, to make out the 
tax-lists, to appoint senators and knights, to manage the collection 
of taxes, to superintend public buildings, and, finally, to exercise 
an indefinite supervision over public manners and morals. These 
were very great powers. We find that considerable time elapsed 
before the plebeians actually realized the advantage which they 
had legally won in this compromise. About the year 400, they 
succeeded in electing several mihtary tribunes. As early as 410 
B.C. three out of the four treasurers, or paymasters {qucestors),vfQre 
plebeians. About forty years after (367 B.C.), they obtained, by 
the Licinian Laws, the political equality for which they had so 
long contended. 

War with the Etruscans. — But before this result should be 
reached, other events of much consequence were to occur. The 
Etruscans, who were not only proficients in the arts, but were 
also active in trade and commerce, had been defeated at sea by 
the Greeks, in 474 B.C. But on the north they had a more formid- 
able foe in the Gauls, by whom their power was weakened. The 
Romans took advantage of the situation to lay siege to Veil, which, 
after ten years, was captured by their general, Marcus Furius 
Camillus. The capture of other towns followed. 

It was told of Camillas that Falerii surrendered to him of its own accord, for his magna- 
nimity in sending back a treacherous schoolmaster who had taken out to his camp the sons of 
the chief citizens. Camillus tied his hands behind him, and ordered the boys to flog him back 
into the city. Camillus was sent into exile, it was related, on a charge of injustice in dividing 
the booty obtained at Veii. 

Invasion of the Gauls. — But the Romans joined with the 
Etruscans in the attempt to drive back a dreaded enemy of both, 
the Gauls. In the battle of the Allia, a brook eleven miles north 
of Rome, on the i8th of July, 390 B.C., the Roman army was 
routed by them, and Rome left without the means of defense. 
All the people fled, except a few brave men, who shut themselves 
up in the Capitol, and, according to the tradition, some aged patri- 
cians, who, in their robes of state, waited for the enemy. The 
Gauls, under Brennus, rushed in, and plundered and burned the 
city. In later times the story was told, that, when the Gauls were 
chmbing up to the Capitol secretly by night, the cackling of the 
geese awoke Marcus Manliiis, and so the enemy was repulsed. 
There was another story, that, when the Romans were paying the 
ransom required by Brennus, and complained of false weight, the 



ROMAN HISTORY. 137 

insolent Gaul threw his sword into the scale, exclaiming, " Woe to 
the conquered ! " and that just then Camillus appeared, and drove 
the Gauls out of the city. This is certain, that the Gauls retired of 
their own free will from their occupation of the city. The destruc- 
tion of the temples involved the loss of early chronicles, which 
would have given us better information as to the times preceding. 
The city was rebuilt without much delay. 

The Licinian Laws. — The agitation for political reform soon 
commenced again. The Licinian Laws, which make an epoch in 
the controversy of parties, were proposed in 376, but were not 
passed until 367. Besides provisions for the relief of debtors and 
for limiting the number of acres of pubHc lands to be held by an in- 
dividual, it was enacted that the military tribuneship should be given 
up, and that at least one of the two consuls must be chosen from the 
plebeians. A new patrician office, the pr(zto7-ship, was founded, 
the holders of which were to govern in the absence of the consuls. 
The patricians did not at once cease from the effort to keep the 
reins in their hands. Several times they broke the law, and put 
in two patrician consuls. They yielded at last, however ; and, as 
early as the year 300, all Roman offices were open to all Roman 
citizens. The patrician order became a social, not a legal, distinc- 
tion. A new sort of nobility, made up of both patricians and ple- 
beians, whose families had longest held public offices, gradually 
arose. These were the optiniates. The Senate became the prin- 
cipal executive body. It was recruited by the censors, principally 
from those who had held high stations and were upwards of thirty 
years old. One censor was required to be a plebeian. The con- 
dition of the people was improved by other enactments, one of 
which (in 326 or 313) secured to the debtor his personal freedom 
in case he should transfer his property to the creditor. At about 
this time, there was a change in the constitution of the army. The 
sort of arms assigned was no longer to depend on property qualifi- 
cations. There were to be three lines in battle, — the first two to 
carry a short spear {pilum), and the third the long lance {hasta). 

Influence of Party Conflicts. — The long contest of parties in 
Rome was an invaluable political education. It was attended with 
little bloodshed. It involved discussion on questions of justice 
and right, and on the best civil constitution. It was not unlike 
party conflicts in English history. It trained the Romans in a 
habit of judicious conipromise, of perseverance in asserting just 
claims, and of yielding to just demands. 



Period II. 
TO THE UNION OF ITALY. 

(^304-264 B.C.) 



CHAPTER I. 
CONQUEST OF THE LATINS AND ITALIANS (304-282 B.C.). 

Wars with the Gauls. — The increased vigor produced by the 
adjustment of the conflict of classes manifested itself in a series of 
minor wars. The Romans were now able to face the Gauls, who 
had permanently planted themselves in Northern Italy. Against 
them they waged four wars in succession, the last of which ended 
in a signal victory for the Roman side (367-349). Wars with the 
Etruscan cities brought the whole of Southern Etruria under 
Roman rule (358-351). 

First Samnite War. — The neighbor that was the hardest for 
the Romans to conquer was the nation of Samnites, who hved 
among the Apennines of Central Italy, east of Latium. The con- 
flict with this tough tribe lasted, with intermissions, for fifty years. 

The immediate occasion of the struggle was the appeal of Capua — a Greek 
city in Campania in which Samnites had before settled — for help against 
their kinsmen in the mountains (343). This prayer the Romans granted 
when Capua had placed itself under their sway. In the first battle, the 
Romans under Valerius Corvus won the day. A second Roman army was 
rescued from imminent danger by the heroism of the elder Decius Mus, and 
a Roman victory followed. After a third victory at Suessula, the Romans, on 
account of the threatening attitude of their Latin confederates, made peace. 
The Samnites, too, were involved in a war with Tarentum, a Greek city on 
the eastern coast. 

War with the Latins. — The Latins were not disposed to recognize 
Rome any longer as the head of the league. They demanded perfect equal- 
ity and an equal share of the Roman public offices (340). In a battle near Vesu- 
vius, the plebeian consul, Decius Mus, having devoted himself to death for 
his country, rode into the thickest ranks of the enemy, and perished, having 
secured victory for the Roman army. Before the battle, the patrician consul, 
Titus Manlius, punished his son with death for presuming to undertake, with- 
out orders, a military exploit, in which, however, he had succeeded. After a 
second victory of Manlius at Trifanum, the Latins were subdued (340), the 
league was broken up, and most of the cities were made subject to Rome, 
acquiring citizenship without the right of suffrage ; but they were forbidden 
to trade or to intermarry with one another. Some became Roman colonies. 
138 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 39 

Several had to cede lands, which were aj^portioned among Roman citizens. 
The beaks [rostra) of the old ships of A)ttiu?ii ornamented the Roman forum. 
Colonies of Roman citizens were settled in the district of the Volscii and in 
Campania. This was an example of the Roman method of separating van- 
quished places from one another, and of inclosing as in a net conquered ter- 
ritories. 

Second Samnite War. — The establishment by the Romans of the 
military colony of FregdUc, in connection with other encroachments, brought 
on the second Samnite war, which lasted for twenty-two years. The prize of 
the contest was really the dominion over Italy. A great misfortune befell 
the Roman arms in 321. The incautious consuls, Vetiirinits and Postmnius, 
allowed themselves to be surrounded in the Candine Pass, where they were 
compelled to capitulate, swear to a treaty of peace, and give up six hundred 
Roman knights as hostages. The whole Roman army was compelled to pass 
under the yoke. The Roman Senate refused to sanction the treaty, and gave 
up the consuls, at their own request, in fetters to the Samnites. The Sam- 
nites refused to receive them, spared the hostages, and began the war anew. 
The Roman consuls, Papirhis Cursor and Fahiits Maxhnns, gained a victory 
at Capua, drove the Samnites out of Campania, and reconquered FregellcE. 
A great military road, the Appian Way, the remains of which may still be 
seen, was built from Rome to Capua (312). 

The Etruscan cities joined in the war against Rome. All Etruria was in 
arms to overcome the advancing power of the Romans. The coalition was 
broken by the great defeat of the Etrurians at the Vadunotiian Lake,\\\ 310. 
The Samnites had their numerous allies ; but the obstinate valor of the Ro- 
mans, who were discouraged by no reverses, triumphed. The capture of 
Bovianum, the capital of the Samnite league (305), ended the war. The 
Samnites sued for peace. The old treaties were renewed. In the course of 
this protracted struggle, various Roman colonies were established, and mili- 
tary roads were constructed. 

Third Samnite War. — Peace was not of long continuance. The Sam- 
nites once more armed themselves for a desperate conflict, having on their 
side the Etncscans, the Umbrians, and the Gauls (300). The Italian peoples 
which had been at war with one another, joined hands in this contest against 
the common enemy. A decisive battle was fought at Seutiiium, — where 
Decius Mus the younger, following his father's example, devoted himself to 
death, — resulting in the defeat of the Samnites, and of their allies (295). 
Soon after, the Samnite general, Pontius, fell into the hands of the Romans. 
The Samnites kept up the contest for several years. But in 290 they found 
that they could hold out no longer. The Romans secured themselves by 
fortresses and by colonies, the most important of which was that of V^enusia, 
at the boundary of Samnium, Apulia, and Lucania, where they placed twenty 
thousand colonists. 



CHAPTER II. 

WAR ^A^ITH PYRRHUS AND UNION OF ITALY (282-264 B.C.). 

Tarentum and Pyrrhus. — The Samnites were overcome. The 
Greeks and Romans were now to come into closer intercourse 
with one another, — an intercourse destined to be so momentotis 
in its effect on each of the two kindred races, and, through their 
joint influence, on the whole subsequent course of European his- 



I40 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

tory. Alexander the Great had died too soon to permit him to 
engage in any plan of conquest in the West. In the wars of his 
successors the Romans had stood aloof. Now they were brought 
into conflict with a Greek monarch, Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who 
was a relative of Alexander, and had married into the royal family 
of Egypt. He was a man of fascinating person and address, a bril- 
liant and famous soldier, but adventurous, and lacking the cool- 
ness and prudence requisite to carry out his project of building up 
an Hellenic Empire in the western Mediterranean. In the war 
against the Samnite coalition, the Lucanians had rendered decisive 
support to the Romans. This was one reason why Tai-entiim, the 
rich and prosperous Dorian city on the Tarentine Gulf, had been 
a spectator of the contest in which it had abundant occasion to 
feel a deep interest. Rome had given up to the Lucanians the 
non-Dorian Greek cities in that region. But when they sought to 
subdue Thtirii, and the Thurines besought the help of Rome, 
offering to submit themselves to her, the Romans warned the 
Lucanians to desist. This led to another combination against 
Rome, in which they took part. A Roman army was destroyed by 
the Senonian Gauls. In consequence of this, the Romans slaugh- 
tered, or drove out of Umbria, this people, and, gaining other de- 
cisive victories, put their garrisons into Loc7'i, Crotona, and Thurii. 
The Romans were already masters of Central Italy. Only the 
Greek cities on the south remained for them to conquer. It was 
high time for Tarentiim to bestir itself. It was from the side of 
Tarentum that the immediate provocation came. The Tarentines 
were listening to a play in the theater as ten Roman ships came 
into the harbor. Under a sudden impulse of wrath, a mob at- 
tacked them, and destroyed five of them. Even then the Romans 
were in no haste to engage in hostilities. The Tarentines them- 
selves were divided as to the policy best to be pursued. But the 
war-party had the more voices. An embassy was dispatched to 
solicit the help of Pyrrhus. At Tarentum an embassy from Rome 
was treated with contempt. Pyrrhus came over with a large army. 
He obliged the Tarentines themselves to arm, and to join his 
forces. 

Events of the War. — The Romans were fully alive to the peril, 
and prepared to meet it. Even the proletarians, who were not 
liable to military service, were enrolled. The first great battle 
took place at Heraclea, near the little river Siris (280 B.C.). 
Then the Roman cohort and the Macedonian phalanx met for 
the first time. It was a collision of trained mercenary troops 
with the citizen soldiery of Rome. It was a struggle between 
the Greek and the Roman for the ascendency. The confusion 
caused by the elephants of Pyrrhus, an encounter with which 
was something new and strange to the Romans, turned the tide 



ROMAN HISTORY. I4I 

in his favor. "A few more such victories," said Pyrrhus, "and I 
am ruined." He desired peace, and sent Cineas as a messenger 
to the Senate. But Appius Claudius, who had been consul and 
censor, and was now old and blind, begged them not to make 
peace as long as there was an enemy in Italy. Cineas reported 
that he found the Senate " an assembly of kings." In the next 
year, the two armies, each with its allies numbering seventy 
thousand men, met at Asculum (279). After a bloody con- 
flict, Fyrrhus remained in possession of the field, but with an 
enormous loss of men. The Syracusans in Sicily, who had been 
hard pressed by the Carthaginians, now called upon him to 
aid them. He was not reluctant to leave Italy. The Romans 
captured all the cities on the south coast, except Tarentum 
and Rhegium. After two years' absence, Pyrrhus returned to 
Italy. His fleet, on the passage from Sicily, was defeated by the 
Carthaginians. At Beneventum, he was completely vanquished 
by the Romans, who captured thirteen hundred prisoners and 
four elephants. Pyrrhus returned to Epirus ; and, after his death 
(272), Milon, who commanded the garrison left by him in Taren- 
tum, surrendered the city and fortress. The Tarentines agreed 
to deliver up their ships and arms, and to demolish their walls. 
One after another of the resisting tribes yielded to the Romans, 
ceding portions of their territory, and receiving Roman colonies. 
In 266, the Roman sway was established over the whole penin- 
sula proper, from the Rubicon and the Macra to the southern 
extremity of Calabria. 

Citizenship. — In order to understand Roman history, it is 
necessary to have a clear idea of the Roman system in respect to 
citizenship. All burgesses of Rome enjoyed the same rights. 
These were both Public and Private. The private rights of 
a Roman citizen were ( i ) the power of legal marriage with the 
families of all other citizens ; (2) the power of making legal pur- 
chases and sales, and of holding property; and (3) the right to 
bequeath and inherit property. The public rights were, (i) the 
power of voting wherever a citizen was permitted to vote; (2) 
the power of being elected to all offices. 

Conquered Towns. — "The Roman dominion in Italy was a 
dominion of a city over cities." With regard to conquered 
towns, there were, (i) Municipal cities {tnunicipia) the inhabit- 
ants of which, when they visited Rome, could exercise all the 
rights of citizens. (2) Municipal cities which had the private, but 
not the public, rights of citizenship. Some of them chose their 
own municipal ofiicers, and some did not. (3) Latin Colonies, 
as they were called. Lands ceded by conquered places were 
divided among poor Roman citizens, who constituted the ruling 



142 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

class in the communities to which they were transplanted. In 
the Latin colonies, the citizens had given up their public rights 
as citizens. (4) Towns of a lower class, called FrcBfecfures. In 
these, the principal magistrate was the Prefect, who was appointed 
by the Pi-cetor {Frcefor U7'danus) at Rome. 

The Allies {Socii). — These were a more favored class of cities. 
They had their relation to Rome defined by treaty. Generally 
they appointed their own magistrates, but were bound, as were 
all subject cities, to furnish auxihary troops for Rome. 

The Latin Franchise. — This was the privilege which was first 
given to the cities of Latium and then to inhabitants of other 
places. It was the power, on complying with certain conditions, 
of gaining full citizenship, and thus of taking part in elections at 
Rome. 

Roman Colonies. — The Roman Colony (which is not to be con- 
founded with the Latin Colony referred to above) was a small 
body of Roman citizens, transplanted, with their families, to a 
spot selected by the government. They formed a military station. 
To them lands taken from the native inhabitants were given. 
They constituted the ruling class in the community where they 
were established. Their government was modeled after the gov- 
ernment at Rome. They retained their rights as Roman burgesses, 
which they could exercise whenever they were in that city. By 
means of these colonies, planted in places wisely chosen, Italy 
was kept in subjection. The colonies were connected together 
by roads. The Appiajt Way, from Rome to Capua, was built in 
the midst of the conflict with Samnium. It was made of large, 
square stones, laid on a platform of sand and mortar. In later 
times the Roman Empire was traversed in all directions by simi- 
lar roads. 



Period III. 
THE PUNIC WARS: 

TO THE CONQUEST OF CARTHAGE AND OF THE GREEK STATES. 
{264-146 B.C.) 



CHAPTER I. 

THE FIRST AND SECOND PUNIC TATARS (264-202 B.C.). 

The First Punic War. — By dint of obstinacy, and hard fighting 
through long centuries, the Romans had united under them all 
Italy, or all of what was then known as Italy. It was natural that 
they should look abroad. The rival power in the West was the 
great commercial city of Carthage. The jealousy between Rome 
and Carthage had slumbered so long as they were threatened by 
the invasion of Pyrrhiis, which was dangerous to both. Sicily, 
from its situation, could hardly fail to furnish the occasion of a con- 
flict. The Mamcrtines, a set of Campanian pirates, had captured 
Messana. They were attacked by Hiero II., king of Syracuse. 
A part of them besought help of the Romans, and a part applied 
to the Carthaginians. The gravity of the question, whether Rome 
should enter on an untried path, the end of which no man could 
foresee, caused hesitation. The assemblies voted to grant the 
request. The Romans had begun as early as 3 1 1 to create a fleet. 
The ships which they now used, however, were mostly furnished 
by their South Italian allies. They crossed the channel, and 
drove out the Carthaginian garrison from Messa?ia. The Cartha- 
ginians declared war (264). Hiero was gained over to the 
side of the Romans ; and after a bloody conflict, with heavy 
losses to both armies, the city of Agrigentum was captured by the 
Romans. The Romans were novices on the sea, where the Car- 
thaginians were supreme. Successful on the land, the former were 
beaten in naval encounters. One of the most characteristic proofs 
of the energy of the Romans is their creation of a fleet, at this epoch, 
to match that of their sea-faring enemies. Using, it is said, for 
a model, a Carthaginian vessel wrecked on the shore of Italy, 
they constructed quinqueremes, vessels with five banks of oars, 

143 



144 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

furnished with bridges to drop on the decks of the hostile ships, — 
thus giving to a sea-fight a resemblance to a combat on land. At 
first, as might be expected, the Romans were defeated ; but in 
260, under the consul Cuius Duilius, they won their first naval 
victory at Mylce, west of Messana. The Roman Senate decided 
to invade Africa. A fleet of three hundred and thirty vessels 
sailed under the command of the consul M. Atilius Regtdus, 
which was met by a Carthaginian fleet at Ecnomus, on the south 
coast of Sicily. The Carthaginians were completely vanquished. 
The Romans landed at Clupea, to the east of Carthage, and rav- 
aged the adjacent district. There Regubis remained with half the 
army, fifteen thousand men. The Carthaginians sued for peace ; 
but when he required them to surrender all their ships of war 
except one, and to come into a dependent relation to Rome, they 
spurned the proposal. Re-enforcing themselves with mercenaries 
from Greece under the command of the Spartan, Xanthippus, they 
overpowered and captured Regulus in a battle at Tu?iis (255). A 
Roman fleet, sent to Clupea for the rescue of the troops, on the 
return voyage lost three-fourths of its ships in a storm. The Car- 
thaginians, under Hasdrubal, resumed hostilities in Sicily. He was 
defeated by the consul Ccecilms Meiellus, at Panormus, who in- 
cluded among his captures one hundred elephants (251). The 
story of the embassy of Regulus to Rome with the Carthaginian 
offer of peace, of his advising the Senate not to accept it, of his 
voluntary return according to a promise, and of his cruel death at 
the hands of his captors, is probably an invention of a later time. 
The hopes of the Romans, in consequence of their success at Pa- 
nortnus, revived ; but two years later, under Appius Claudius at 
Drepanum, they were defeated on sea and on land. Once more 
their naval force was prostrated. Warfare was now carried forward 
on land, where, in the south of Sicily, the Carthaginian leader, 
Hamilcar Barca, maintained himself against Roman attacks for 
six years, and sent out privateers to harass the coasts of Italy. 
Finally, at Rome, there was an outburst of patriotic enthusiasm. 
Rich men gave liberally, and treasures of the temples were devoted 
to the building of a new fleet. This fleet, under comma..d of C. 
Lutatius Catulus, gained a decisive victory over the Carthaginian 
Hanno, at the A^gatian Islands, opposite Lilybceum (241). The 
Carthaginians were forced to conclude peace, and to make large 
concessions. They gave up all claim to Italy and to the neigh- 
boring small islands. They were to pay an indemnity, equal to 
four million dollars, in ten years. The western part of Sicily was 
now constituted a province, the first of the Roman provinces. 

Conquest of Cisalpine Gaul. — The Carthaginians were for 
some time busy at home in putting down a revolt of mercenary 
troops, whose wages they refused to pay in fuU. The Romans 



42 t, 



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ROMAN HISTORY. I45 

snatched the occasion to extort a cession of the island of Sardinia 
(238), which they subsequently united with Corsica in one prov- 
ince. They entered, about ten years later (229-228), upon an 
important and successful war against the Illyrian pirates, whose 
depredations on the coasts of the Adriatic and Ionian seas were 
very daring and destructive. The Greek cities which the pirates 
held were surrendered. The sway of the Romans in the Adri- 
atic was secured, and their supremacy in Corcyra, Epidamnus, 
and other important places. The next contest was a terrific one* 
with the Cisalpine Gauls, who were stirred up by the founding of 
Roman military colonies on the Adriatic, and by other proceedings 
of Rome. They called in the help of transalpine Gauls, and 
entered Etru7'ia, on their way to Rome, with an army of seventy 
thousand men. They met the Roman armies near Telamon, 
south of the mouth of the Umbro, but were routed, with a loss of 
forty thousand men slain, and ten thousand men prisoners (225). 
The Romans marched northward, crossed the Po, and subdued 
the most powerful of the Gallic tribes, the Insubrians (223). 
Other victories in the following year reduced the whole of upper 
Italy, with Mediolanum (Milan) the capital of the Insubrians, 
under Roman rule. Fortresses were founded as usual, and the 
great Flaminian and /Einilian roads connected that region with 
the capital. Later, Cisalpine Gaul became a Roman province. 

Carthaginians in Spain. — Meantime Carthage endeavored in 
Southern Spain to make up for its losses. The old tribes, the Cel- 
tiberians and Lusitanians in the central and western districts, and 
the Cantabrians and Basques in the north, brave as they were, 
were too much divided by tribal feuds to make an effectual resist- 
ance. The national party at Carthage, which wished for war, had 
able leaders in Hamilcar and his three sons. By the military skill 
of Hamilcar, and of Hasdrubal his son-in-law, the Carthaginians 
built up a flourishing dominion on the south and east coasts. The 
Romans watched the growth of the Carthaginian power there 
with discontent, and compelled Hasdj-iibal to declare in a treaty 
that the Ebro should be the limit of Carthaginian conquests (226). 
At the same time Rome made a protective alliance with Sagunhwi, 
a rich and powerful trading-city on the south of that river. Has- 
drubal was murdered in 221 ; and the son of Hamilcar Barca, 
Hannibal, who was then only twenty-eight years old, was chosen 
by the army to be their general. He laid hold of a pretext for 
beginning an attack upon Saguntum, which he took after a stout 
resistance, prolonged for eight months (219). The demand of a 
Roman embassy at Carthage — that Hannibal ^honXd be delivered 
up — being refused, Rome declared war. 

When the Carthaginian Council hesitated at the proposal of the Roman 
embassy, their spokesman, Quiiitus Fabius, said that he carried in his bosom 



146 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

peace or war : they might chose either. They answered, " We take what you 
give us ; " whereupon the Roman opened his toga, saying, " I give you war ! " 
The Carthaginians shouted, " So let it be ! " 

The Second Punic War. — When the treaty of Catuhis was 
made (241), all patriots at Carthage felt that it was only a truce. 
They must have seen that Rome would never be satisfied with any 
thing short of the abject submission of so detested and dangerous 
a rival. There was a peace party, an oligarchy, at Carthage ; and it 
was their selfishness which ultimately brought ruin upon the state. 
But the party which saw that the only safety was in aggressive 
action found a military leader in Hannibal, — a leader not sur- 
passed, and perhaps not equaled, by any other general of ancient 
or modern times. He combined skill with daring, and had such a 
command over men, that under the heaviest reverses his influence 
was not broken. If he was cruel, it is doubtful whether he went 
beyond the practices sanctioned by the international law of the 
time and by Roman example. When a boy nine years old, at his 
father's request he had sworn upon the altar never to be the friend 
of the Roman people. That father he saw fall in battle at his side. 
The oath he kept, for Rome never had a more unyielding or a 
more powerful enemy. 

Hannibal in Italy. — In the summer of 2 1^, Hannibal cxo'S.sed. the 
Ebro, conquered the peoples between the Ebro and the Pyrenees, 
and, leaving his brother Hasdrubal in Spain, pushed into Gaul 
with an army of fifty thousand foot, twelve thousand horse, and 
thirty-seven elephants. He crossed the swift Rhone in the face of 
the Gauls who disputed the passage, and then made his memora- 
ble march over the Alps, probably by the way now known as the 
Littie St Bernard pass. Through ice and snow, climbing over 
crags and circling abysses, amid perpetual conflicts with the rough 
mountaineers who rolled stones down on the toiling soldiers, the 
army made its terrible journey into Northern Italy. Fifteen days 
were occupied in the passage. Half the troops, with all the 
draught-animals and beasts of burden, perished on the way. The 
Cisalpine Gauls welcomed Hannibal as a deliverer. No sooner 
had the valiant consul, Cornelius Scipio, been defeated in a cavalry 
battle on the Ticinus, a northern branch of the Po (218), and, 
severely wounded, retreated to Placentia, and his rash colleague, 
Senipronius, been defeated with great loss in a second battle on 
the Trebia, than the Gauls joined Hannibal, and reinforced him 
with sixty thousand troops inured to war. Hannibal, by march- 
ing through the swampy district of the Arno, where he himself 
lost an eye, flanked the defensive position of the Romans. The 
consul Flaminius was decoyed into a narrow pass ; and, in the 
battle of Lake Trasumenus (217), his army of thirty thousand 
men was slaughtered or made prisoners. The consul himself was 



ROMAN HISTORY. I47 

killed. All Etncria was lost. The way seemed open to Rome ; 
but, supported by the Latins and Italians, the Romans did not 
quail, or lower their mien of stern defiance. They appointed a 
leading patrician, Quintus Fabius Maximus, dictator. Hannibal, 
not being able to surprise and capture the fortress of Spolctium, 
preferred to march towards the sea-coast, and thence south into 
Apulia. His purpose was to open communication with Cartilage, 
and to gain over to his support the eastern tribes of Italy. Fabius, 
the Delayer ( Cunctator) , as he was called, followed and watched 
his enemy, inflicting what injuries he could, but avoiding a 
pitched battle. The Roman populace were impatient of the cau- 
tious, but wise and effective, policy of Fabius. In the following 
year (216) the consulship was given to L. /Fmilius Paulas — who 
was chosen by the upper class, the Optimates — and C. Terentius 
Varro, who was elected by the popular party for the purpose of 
taking the offensive. Varro precipitated a battle at CanncE, in 
Apulia, where the Romans suffered the most terrible defeat they 
had ever experienced. At the lowest computation, they lost forty 
thousand foot and three thousand horse, with the consul ^milius 
Paulus, and eighty men of senatorial rank. No such calamity 
since the capture of Rome by the Gauls had ever occurred. The 
Roman Senate did not lose heart. They limited the time of 
mourning for the dead to thirty days. They refused to admit to 
the city the ambassadors of Hannibal, who came for the exchange 
of prisoners. With lofty resolve they ordered a levy of all who 
could bear arms, including boys and even slaves. They put into 
their hands weapons from the temples, spoils of former victories. 
They thanked Varro that he had not despaired of the Republic. 
Some of the Italian allies went over to Hannibal. But all the 
Latin cities and all the Roman colonies remained loyal. The 
allies of Rome did not fall away as did the allies of Athens after 
the Syracusan disaster. It has been thought, that, if Hannibal had 
followed up the victory at Cannce by marching at once on the capital, 
the Roman power might have been overthrown. What might then 
have been the subsequent course of European history? Even the 
Roman school-boys, according to Juvenal, discussed the question 
whether he did not make a mistake in not attacking Rome. But 
it is quite doubtful whether he could have taken the city, or, even 
if he had taken it, whether his success would then have been com- 
plete. He took the wiser step of getting into his hands Capua, 
the second city in Italy. He may have hoped to seize a Campa- 
nian port, where he could disembark reinforcements " which his 
great victories had wrung from the opposition at home." Hannibal 
judged it best to go into winter-quarters at Capua, where his army 
was in a measure enervated by pleasure and vice. Carthage 
made an alliance with Philip V. of Macedonia, and with Hiero of 



148 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Syracuse. But fortune turned in favor of the Romans. At Nola, 
Hannibal was repulsed by Marcellus (215) ; and, since he could 
obtain no substantial help from home, he was obliged to act on the 
defensive. Alarccllits crossed into Sicily, and, after a siege of three 
years, captured Syracuse, which had been aided in its defense by 
the philosopher Archimedes. Capua, in 211, surrendered to the 
Romans, and was visited with a fearful chastisement. Hannibal's 
Italian allies forsook him, and his only reliance was on his brother 
in Spain. For a long time, the two brothers, Publius and Cmeus 
Scipio, maintained there the Roman cause successfully ; but they 
were defeated anti slain (212). 

Scipio : Zama. — Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of one and 
nephew of the other Scipio just named, a young man twenty-five 
years old, and a popular favorite, took the command, and gained 
important successes ; but he could not keep Hasdrubal from going 
to his brother's assistance in Italy. The Romans, however, were 
able to prevent a junction of his force with that of Hannibal; and 
Hasdrubal was vanquished and slain by them in the battle of Sena 
Gallica, near the little river Alctaurus (207). Scipio expelled the 
Carthaginians from Spain, and, having returned to Rome, was made 
consul (205). His plan was to invade Africa. He landed on the 
coast, and was joined by Masinissa, the king of Numidia, who had 
been driven from his throne by Syp/iax, the ally of Carthage. 
The defeat of the Carthaginians, and the danger of Carthage itself, 
led to the recall oi Hannibal, who was defeated, in 202, by Scipio 
in the decisive battle of Zama. Carthage made peace, giving up 
all her Spanish possessions and islands in the Mediterranean, hand- 
ing over the kingdom of Syphax to Masinissa, and agreeing to 
pay a yearly tribute equal to two hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
lars, for fifty years, to destroy all their ships of war but ten, and to 
make no war without the consent of the Romans (201). Scipio 
Africanus, as he was termed, came back in triumph to Rome. 
The complete subjugation of Upper Italy followed (200-191). 



CHAPTER II. 

CONQUEST OP MACEDONIA: THE THIRD PUNIC WAR: 
THE DESTRUCTION OF CORINTH (202-146 B.C.). 

Philip V. : Antiochus III. — The Romans were now domi- 
nant in the West. They were strong on the sea, as on the land. 
Within fifty years Rome likewise became the dominant power in 
the East. Philip V. of Macedon had made an alliance with 
Hannibal, but had furnished him no valuable aid. The Senate 



ROMAN HISTORY. I49 

maintained that a body of Macedonian mercenaries had fought 
against the Romans at Zama. Rhodes and Athens, together with 
Kitig Attains of Pergamon, sought for help against Philip. The 
Romans were joined by the y£toIians, and aftenvards by the 
Achaians. In 197, the consul T. Quintius Fhmiiiinus defeated 
him at the battle of Cynoscephalce in Thessaly, and imposed upon 
him such conditions of peace as left him powerless against the 
interests of Rome. At the Isthmian games, amid great rejoicing, 
Flamininus declared the Greek states independent. When they 
found that their freedom was more nominal than real, and involved 
a virtual subjection to Rome, the /Etolians took up arms, and 
obtained the support of Autiochus III., king of Syria. Another 
grievance laid at the door of this king was the reception by him 
of Hannibal, a fugitive from Carthage, whose advice, however, as 
to the conduct of the war, Anfiochus had not the wisdom to fol- 
low. In 190 he was vanquished by a Roman army at Magnesia, 
under L. Cornelius Scipio, with whom was present, as an adviser, 
Scipio Africatius. He was forced to give up all his Asiatic pos- 
sessions as far as the Taurus mountains. The territory thus 
obtained, the Romans divided among their allies, Fe?-gamon and 
Rhodes. About seven years later (183), I/anni/>al, who had taken 
refuge at the court of Prusias, king of Bithynia, finding that he 
was to be betrayed, took poison and died. The ingratitude of his 
country, or of the ruling party in it, did not move him to relax 
his exertions against Rome. He continued until his death to be 
her most formidable antagonist, exerting in exile an effective 
influence in the East to create combinations against her. 

Perseus. — Philip V. laid a plan to avenge himself on the 
Romans, and regain his lost Macedonian territory. Perseus, his 
son, followed in the same path, having slain his brother Deme- 
trius, who was a friend of Rome. The war broke out in 171. 
For several campaigns the management of the Roman generals 
was ill-judged ; but at last L. jFniilius Pauius, son of the consul 
who fell at Cannce, routed the Macedonians at the battle of Pdna. 
Immense spoils were brought to Rome by the conqueror. Perseus 
himself, who had sat on the throne of Alexander, adorned the 
consul's triumphal procession through the streets of Rome. The 
cantons of Greece, where there was nothing but continual strife and 
endless confusion, were subjected to Roman influence. One thou- 
sand Achaians of distinction, among them the historian Polybius, 
were carried to Italy, and kept under surveillance for many years. 
The imperious spirit of Rome, and the deference accorded to her, 
is illustrated in the inter\iew of C. Popilius Lcenas, who deliv- 
ered to Antiochus IV. of Syria a letter of the Senate, directing 
him to retire from before Alexandria. When that monarch re- 
plied that he would confer with his counselors on the matter, the 



150 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

haughty Roman drew a circle round him on the ground, and bade 
him decide before he should cross that line. Afitiochus said that 
he would do as the Senate ordered. 

The Third Punic War. — The treaty with Carthage had bound 
that city hand and foot. Against the encroachments of Masinissa, 
the Carthaginians could do nothing; but at length they were 
driven to take up arms to repel them. This act the Romans pro- 
nounced a breach of the treaty (149). That stern old Roman, 
who in his youth had served against Hannibal, M. Porcius Cato, 
had been unceasing in his exhortation to destroy Carthage. He 
was in the habit of ending his speeches with the saying, " But I 
am of opinion that Carthage should be destroyed." The Roman 
armies landed at Utica. Their hard demands, which included the 
surrender of war-ships and weapons, were complied with. But 
when the Carthaginians were required to abandon their city, and 
to make a new settlement ten miles distant, they rose in a fury of 
patriotic wrath. The women cut off their hair to make bow- 
strings. Day and night the people worked, in forging weapons 
and in building a new fleet in the inner harbor. The Romans 
were repulsed ; but P. Scipio ^milianus, the adopted son of the 
first Scipio Africanus, shut in the city by land and by sea, and, in 
146, captured and destroyed it. Its defenders fought from street 
to street, and from house to house. Only a tenth part of the 
inhabitants were left alive. These were sold into slavery. Car- 
thage was set on fire, and almost entirely consumed. The fire 
burned for seventeen days. The remains of the Carthaginian 
wall, when excavated in recent times, " were found to be covered 
with a layer of ashes from four to five feet deep, filled with half- 
charred pieces of wood, fragments of iron, and projectiles." 
Scipio would have preserved the city, but the Senate was inexor- 
able. With the historian Polybius at his side, the Roman com- 
mander, as he looked down on the horrors of the conflagration, 
sorrowfully repeated the lines of Homer, — 

" The day shall come when sacred Troy shall be leveled with the plain, 
And Priam and the people of that good warrior slain." 

"Assyria," he is said to have exclaimed, "had fallen, and Persia 
and Macedon. Carthage was burning : Rome's day might come 
next." Carthage was converted into a Roman province under the 
name of Africa. 

Destruction of Corinth. — The atrocious crime of the destruc- 
tion of Carthage was more than matched by the contemporaneous 
destruction of Corinth. Another rising in Macedonia resulted, in 
146, in the conversion of that ancient kingdom into a Roman 
province. The return to Greece of three hundred Achaian exiles 
who had been detained in Italy for sixteen years, strengthened the 



ROMAN iriSTORY. I5I 

anti-Roman party in Greece, and helped to bring on war with the 
Achaian league. In 146, after the battle of Leucopct7'a, Corinth 
was occupied by the consul Z. Muinmius. The men were put to 
the sword ; the women and children were sold at auction into 
slavery ; all treasures, all pictures, and other works of art, were 
carried off to Rome, and the city was consigned to the flames. 
The other (jreek cities were mildly treated, but placed under the 
governor of Macedonia, and obliged to pay tribute to Rome. At 
a later date Greece became a Roman province under the name 
of Achaia. 

The Provinces. — At this epoch, there were eight provinces, — Sicily 
(241), Sardinia (238) and Corsica, two provinces in Spain (205), Cisalpine 
Gaul, Illyricwn (16S), Africa (146), Macedonia (146), and Achaia. The first 
four were governed by Praters. Later, however, the judicial functions of 
the praetors kept them in Rome. At the end of the year, the praetor, on 
laying down his office at home, went as proprietor to rule a province. But 
where there was war or other grave disturbances, the province was assigned 
to a consul in office, or to a proconsul, who was either the consul of the 
preceding year, or an ex-consul, or an ex-praetor who was appointed pro- 
consul. The provinces were generally organized by the conquering general 
and a senatorial commission. Some cities retained their municipal govern- 
ment. These were the "free cities." The taxes were farmed out to collec- 
tors called publicans, who were commonly of the equestrian order. The last 
military dictator was appointed in 216. In times of great danger, dictatorial 
power was given to a consul. 

Literature and Philosophy. — The intercourse of the Romans with 
the Greeks opened to the former a new world of art, literature, and philoso- 
phy, and a knowledge of other habits and modes of life. There were those 
who regarded the Greek authors and artists with sympathy, and showed an 
intelligent enthusiasm for the products of Greek genius. Under the patron- 
age of the Scipios, Roman poets wrote in imitation of Greek models. Such 
were Plautus (who died in 184), and the less original, but more refined, 
Terence (185-159), who had been the slave of a senator. Ennius (239-169), 
a Calabrian Greek, wrote epics, and also tragedies and comedies. Him the 
later Romans regarded as the father of their literature. The beginnings 
of historical writing — which go beyond mere chronicles and family histo- 
ries — appear, as in the lost work on Roman history by M. Fortius Cato 
(Cato the Censor, 234-149). The great historian of this period, however, 
was the Greek Polybius. The Greek philosophy was introduced, in spite of 
the vigorous opposition of such austere conservatives as Cato. Pancetius 
(185-112), the Stoic from Rhodes, had a cordial reception at Rome. The 
Stoic teaching was adapted to the Roman mind. The Platonic philosophy 
was brought in by Carneades. This was frequently more acceptable to 
orators and statesmen. Along with the Stoic, the Epicu7-can school found 
adherents. Cato — who, although a historian and an orator, was, in theory 
and practice, a rigid man, with the simple ways of the old time — procured 
the banishment of Carneades, together with Critolaus the Peripatetic, and the 
Stoic Diof^enes. The schools of oratory he caused to be shut up. He did 
vyhat he could to prevent the introduction of the healing art, as it was prac- 
ticed by the Greeks. He preferred the old-fashioned domestic remedies. 

The State of Morals. — If the opposition of the Conservatives to 
Greek letters and philosophy was unreasonable, as it certainly proved futile, 
there was abundant ground for alarm and regret at the changes that were 
going on in morals and in ways of living. The conquest of Greece and 



152 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

of the East brought an amazing increase of wealth. Rome plundered the 
countries which she conquered. The optimates, the leading families, who 
held the chief offices in the state and in the army, grew very rich from 
the booty which they gained. They left their small dwellings for stately 
palaces, which they decorated with works of art, gained by the pillage of 
nations. They built villas in the country, with extensive grounds and beau- 
tiful gardens. Even women, released from the former strict subordination 
of the wife to her husband, indulged lavishly in finery, and plunged into 
gaieties inconsistent with the household virtues. The optijtiates, in order to 
enrich themselves further, often resorted to extortion of various sorts. In 
order to curry favor with the people, and thereby to get their votes, they 
stooped to flattery, and to demagogical arts which the earlier Romans 
would have despised. They provided games, at great expense, for the enter- 
tainment of the populace. In the room of the invigorating and of the intel- 
lectual contests, which had been in vogue among the Greeks, the Romans 
acquired an increasing relish for bloody gladiatorial fights of men with wild 
beasts, and of men against one another. Slaves multiplied to an enormous 
extent : " as cheap as a Sardinian " was a proverb. The race of plain 
farmers dwindled away. The trade in slaves became a flourishing branch 
of business. Field-hands toiled in fetters, and were often branded to pre- 
vent escape. If slaves ran away, and were caught, they might be crucified. 
If a householder were killed by a slave, all the slaves in his house might 
be put to death. As at Athens, the testimony of slaves was given under 
torture. Hatred to the master on the part of the slave was a thing of course. 
" As many enemies as slaves," was a common saying. 

Numantian War. — The intolerable oppression of the provinces 
occasionally provoked resistance. It was in Spai7i that the Romans 
found it most difficult to quell the spirit of freedom. The Lusi- 
tanianS, in the territory nov^? called Portugal, under a gallant chief- 
tain, Viriathus, maintained for nine years a war in which they were 
mostly successful, and were finally worsted only in consequence 
of the perfidious assassination of their leader (149-140). The 
Celtiberians , whose principal city, Niimantia, was on the upper 
Douro, kept up their resistance with equal valor for ten years 
(143-133). On one occasion a Roman army of twenty thousand 
men was saved from destruction by engagements which the Senate, 
as after the surrender at the Caudine Forks, repudiated. In 133, 
after a siege of eighteen months, Numantia was taken by Scipio 
Africanus /Etnilianus. It was hunger that compelled the surren- 
der; and the noblest inhabitants set fire to the town, and slew 
themselves, to avoid faUing into the hands of the enemy. 

Pergamon. — More subservience the Romans found in the East. 
In the same year that the desperate resistance of the Numantiatis 
was overcome, Attains III., king of Pei-gamon, an ally of Rome, 
whose sovereignty extended over the greater part of Asia Minof, 
left his kingdom and all his treasures, by will, to the Roman peo- 
ple. There was a feeble struggle on the part of the expectant 
heir, but the Romans formed the larger part of the kingdom into 
a province. Phrygia Major they detached, and gave to Mithri- 
dates IV., king of Po7itus, who had helped them in this last brief 
contest. 



• Period IV. 

THE ERA OF REVOLUTION AND OF THE CIVIL WARS. 

{146-31 B.C.) 



CHAPTER I. 

THE GRACCHI: THE FIRST MITHRIDATIC WAR: MARIUS 
AND SULLA (146-78 B.C.). 

Condition of Rome. — We come now to an era of internal strife. 
The Romans were to turn their arms against one another. Yet it 
is remarkable that the march of foreign conquest still went on. 
It was by conquests abroad that the foremost leaders in the civil 
wars rose to the position which enabled them to get control in the 
government at home. The power of the Senate had been more 
and more exalted. Foreign affairs were mainly at its disposal. 
The increase in the number of voters in the comitia, and their 
motley character, made it more easy for" the aristocracy to manage 
them. Elections were carried by the influence of largesses and 
by the exhibition of games. Practically the chief ofiicers were 
limited to a clique, composed of rich families of both patrician 
and plebeian origin, which was diminishing in number, while the 
numbers of the lower class were rapidly growing larger. The gulf 
between the poor and the rich was constantly widening. The last 
Italian colony was sent out in 177 B.C., and the lands of Italy 
were all taken up. Slaves furnished labor at the cost of their bare 
subsistence. It was hard for a poor man to gain a living. Had 
the Licinian Lazvs (p. 137) been carried out, the situation would 
have been different. The public lands were occupied by the mem- 
bers of some forty or fifty aristocratic families, and by a certain 
number of wealthy Italians. A great proletariate — a needy and 
disaffected lower class — was growing up, which boded no good to 
the state. 

Tiberius Gracchus. — This condition of things moved Tiberius 
Gracchus, the son of Cornelia, who was the daughter of the great 
Scipio Africa fius, to bring forward his Agrarian Latcs. The effect 
of them would have been to limit the amount of the public 
domain which any one man could hold, and to divide portions of 

153 



154 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

it among poor citizens. In spite of tlie bitter opposition of the 
nobility, these laws were passed (133). But Gracchus had been 
obliged to persuade the people to turn a tribune, who resisted 
their passage, out of office, which was an unconstitutional act. 
In order to carry out the laws, he would have to be re-elected 
tribune. But the opti7}iates, led by the consul Scipio Nasica, had 
been still more infuriated by other proposals of Grcy:chus. They 
raised a mob, and slew him, with three hundred of his followers. 
This gave the democratic leaders a temporary advantage ; but 
violent measures on their own side turned the current again the 
other way, and proceedings under the laws were quashed. 

Caius Gracchus.- — The laws of Cuius Gracchi/s, the brother 
of Tiberius, were of a more sweeping character. He caused 
measures to be passed, and colonies to be sent out, by decrees of 
the people, without any action of the Senate. He renewed the 
agrarian law. He caused a law to be passed for selling corn for 
less than the cost, to all citizens who should apply for it. He 
also caused it to be ordained, that juries should be taken from the 
knights, the equites, instead of the Senate. These were com- 
posed of rich men. The tendency of the law would be to make 
the equestrian order distinct, and thus to divide the aristocracy. 
The proposal (122), which was not passed, to extend the fran- 
chise to the Latins, and perhaps to the Italians, cost him his 
popularity, although the measure was just. The Senate gave its 
support to a rival tribune^ M. Livius Driisus, who outbid Grac- 
chus in the contest for popular favor. In 121 Gracchus was not 
made tribune. In the disorder that followed, he, with several hun- 
dred of his followers, was killed by the optimates, Before long 
most of his enactments were reversed. The law for the cheap 
sale of corn, the most unwise of his measures, continued. ' 

The Jugurthine War. — An interval of tranquillity followed. 
But the corruption of the ruling class was illustrated in connec- 
tion with the Jugurthine war. Jugui'tha, the adopted son of the 
king of Nuniidia, the ally of Rome, wishing the whole kingdom 
for himself, killed one of the sons of the late king, and made war 
upon the other, who applied to the Romans for help. The com- 
mission sent out by the Senate was bribed by Jugurtha. Not 
until he took the city of Cirta, and put to death the remaining 
brother, with all his army, was he summoned to Rome. There, 
too, his money availed to secure him impunity, although he caused 
a Numidian prince to be murdered in Rome itself. When the 
Romans finally entered on the war with Jugurtha, he bribed the 
generals, so that little was effected. The indignation of the peo- 
ple was raised to such a pitch that they would not leave the direc- 
tion of the war in the hands of Quintus Metellus, whom the 
Senate had sent out, and who defeated Jugurtha (108), but in- 



ROMAN HISTORY. 155 

sisted on giving the chief command to one of his subordinate 
officers, Cuius Marias (107), the son of a peasant, wild and rough 
in his manners, but of extraordinary talents as a soldier. He 
brought the war to an end. Jiigiirtha was delivered up by the 
prince with whom he had taken refuge to L. Cornelius Sulla, one 
of the generals under Alarius, and in 105, with his two sons, 
marched in chains before the triumphal car of Marius through the 
streets of Rome. Marius was now the leader of the popular 
party, and the most influential man in Rome. 

The Cimbri and Teutones. — The power of Marius was aug- 
mented by his victories over the Cimbri and the Teutones. These 
were hordes of barbarians who appeared in the Alpine regions, the 
Cimbri being either Celts, or, like the Teutones, Germans. The 
Cimbri crossed the Alps in 113, and defeated a Roman consul. 
They turned westward towards the Rhine, traversed Gaul in dif- 
ferent directions, defeating through a series of years the Roman 
armies that were sent against them. These defeats the democratic 
leaders ascribed, not without reason, to the corrupt management 
of the aristocratic party. In 103 the Cimbri and the Teutones ar- 
ranged for a combined attack on Italy. Marius was made consul ; 
and in order to meet this threatened invasion, which justly excited 
the greatest anxiety, he was chosen to this office five times in suc- 
cession (104-100). Having repulsed the attack of the barbarians 
on his camp, he defeated them in two great battles, the first at 
Aquce SexticB (Aix in Provence) in 102, and the second at Vercel- 
Ice, in Upper Italy, in loi. These successes, which really saved 
Rome, made Marius for the time the idol of the popular party. 

The Army. — At about this time a great cliange took place in 
the constitution of the army. The occupation of a soldier had 
become a trade. Besides the levy of citizens, there was established 
a recruiting system, which drew into the ranks the idle and lazy, 
and a system of re-inforcements, by which cavalry and light-armed 
troops were taken from subject and vassal states. Thus there 
arose a military class, distinct, as it had not been of old, from the 
civil orders, and ready to act separately when its own interest or 
the ambition of favorite leaders might prompt. 

Saturninus. — Marius lacked the judgment and the firmness 
required by a statesman, especially in troublous times. When Sa- 
turninus and Glaucia brought forward a series of measures of a 
radical character in behalf of the democratic cause, and the con- 
sul Metellus, who opposed them, was obHged to go into voluntary 
exile, Marius, growing ashamed of the factious and violent pro- 
ceedings of the popular party, was partially won over to the sup- 
port of the Senate. When C. Memmius, candidate for consul, was 
killed with bludgeons by the mob of Saturninus and Glaucia, and 
there was fighting in the forum and the streets, he helped to put 



156 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

down these reckless innovators (99). But his want of hearty co- 
operation with either party made him hated by both. Metellus was 
recalled from banishment. Marius went to Asia, and visited the 
court of Mithridates. 

The Murder of Drusus. — Nearly ten years of comparative quiet 
ensued. The long continued complaints of the Italians found at 
last a voice in the measures of M. Livius Drusus, a tribune, who, 
in 91, proposed that they should have the right of citizenship. 
Two other propositions, one referring to the relations of the 
Equites and the Senate, and the other for a new division of lands, 
had been accepted by the people, but were by the Senate de- 
clared null. Before Drusus could bring forward the law respect- 
ing Italian citizenship, he was assassinated. Neither Senate nor 
people was favorable to this righteous measure. 

The Italian or Social War (90-88 B.C.). — The murder of Dru- 
sus was the signal for an insurrection of the Italian communities. 
They organized for themselves a federal republic. The peril oc- 
casioned by this great revolt reconciled for the moment the con- 
tending parties at Rome. In the North, where Marius fought, 
the Romans were generally successful : in the South, the allies 
were at first superior ; but in 89, in spite of Sulla's bold forays, 
they were worsted. But it was by policy, more than by arms, that 
the Romans subdued this dangerous revolt. They promised full 
citizenship to those who had not taken part in the war, and to 
those who would at once cease to take part in it (90). Finally, 
when it was plain that Rome was too strong to be overcome, the 
conflict was ended by granting to the allies all that they had ever 
claimed (89). Rome had now made all Italy (south of Cis- 
alpifte Gaul), except the Samnites and Lucanians, equal with 
herself. But Italy had been ravaged by desolating war : the 
number of small proprietors was more than ever diminished, and 
the army and the generals were becoming the predominant force 
in the affairs of the state. 

War with Mithridates. — Mithridates, king of Pontus, in the 
north-east of Asia Minor, was as ardent an enemy of the Romans 
as Hannibal had been. With the help of his son-in-law Tigranes, 
king of Armenia, he had subdued the neighboring kings in alliance 
with Rome. The Asiatic states, who were ruled by the Romans, 
were impatient of the oppression under which they groaned. 
When checked by the Romans, Mithiidates had paused for a 
while, and then had resumed again his enterprise of conquest. In 
88 the Grecian cities of Asia joined him ; and, in obedience to his 
brutal order, all the Italians within their walls, not less than eighty 
thousand in number, but possibly almost double that number, were 
put to death in one day. The whole dominion of the Romans in 
the East was in jeopardy. 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 57 

Marius and Sulla. — Sulla was elected consul in %^, and was 
on the point of departing for Asia. He was a soldier of marked 
talents, a representative of the aristocratic party, and was more 
cool and consistent in his public conduct than Mariiis. Marius 
desired the command against Mithridatcs for himself. P. Sulpicius, 
one of his adherents, brought forward a revolutionary law for in- 
corporating the Italians and freedmen among the thirty-five tribes. 
The populace, under the guidance of the leaders of the Marian 
faction, voted to take away the command from Sulla, and to give 
it to Marius. Sulla refused to submit, and marched his army to 
Rome. It was impossible to resist him. Sulpicius was killed in 
his flight. Marius escaped from Italy, and, intending to go to 
Africa, was landed at MinturncE. To escape pursuit, he had to 
stand up to the chin in a marsh. He was put in prison, and a 
Gaulish slave was sent to kill him. But when he saw the flashing 
eyes of the old general, and heard him cry, " Fellow, darest thou 
kill Cuius Marius .? " he dropped his sword, and ran. Marius 
crossed to Africa. Messengers who were sent to warn him to go 
away, found him sitting among the ruins of Carthage. 

The Marians in Rome. — Sulla restored tlie authority of the 
Senate. During Sulla's absence, Cinna, the consul of the popular 
party, sought to revive the laws of Sulpicius by violent means (87). 
Driven out of the city, he came back with an army which he had 
gathered in Ca77ipania, and with old Manus, who had returned 
from Africa. He now took vengeance on the leaders of the Op- 
timates. For five days the gates were closed, and every noble 
who was specially obnoxious, and had not escaped, was killed by 
Marius, who marched through the streets at the head of a body 
of soldiers. In 86 Marius and Cinna were made consuls. Sulla 
was declared to be deposed. Marius, who was now more than 
seventy years old, died (86). The fever of revenge, and the ap- 
prehension of what might follow on Sulla's return, drove sleep 
from his eyelids. A brave soldier, he was incompetent to play 
the part of a statesman. He went to his grave with the curse of 
all parties resting upon him. 

Return of Sulla. — Sulla refused to do any thing against his 
adversaries at home, or for the help of the fugitive nobles who 
appealed to him, until the cause of the country was secure abroad. 
He captured Athens in 86, defeated Archelaus, the general of 
Mithridates, in a great battle at Chcsronea; and, by this and sub- 
sequent victories, he forced Mithridates to conclude peace, who 
agreed to evacuate the Roman province of Asia, to restore all his 
conquests, surrender eighty ships of war. and pay three thousand 
talents (84). Sulla's hands were now free. In 83 he landed at 
Brundisium. He was joined by Cneius Pompeius, then twenty- 
three years old, with a troop of volunteers. Sulla did not wish to 



158 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

fight the ItaUans. He issued a proclamation, therefore, giving 
them the assurance that their rights would not be impaired. This 
pledge had the desired effect. The army of the Consuls largely 
outnumbered his own. Sulla lingered in South Italy to make good 
his position there. The Samniles joined the Marians, and moved 
upon Rome with the intent to destroy it. They were defeated 
before they could enter the city. The Marians in Spain were 
defeated afterwards, as were the same party in Sicily and Africa 
by Pompeius. 

Cruelty of Sulla. — The cruelty of Sulla, after his victory, was 
more direful than Rome had ever witnessed. It appeared to spring 
from no heat of passion, but was cold and shameless. After a few 
days, there was a massacre of four thousand prisoners in the Cir- 
cus. Their shrieks and groans were heard in the neighboring Tem- 
ple of Bellona, where Sulla was in consultation with the Senate. 
Many thousands — not far from three thousand in Rome alone — 
were proscribed and murdered, and the property of all on these 
lists of the condemned was confiscated. 

The Laws of Sulla. — In his character as Dictator, Sulla re- 
made the constitution, striking out the popular elements to a great 
extent, and concentrating authority in the Senate. The Tribunes 
were stripped of most of their power. The Senate alone could 
propose laws. In the Senate, the places in the juries were given 
back (p. 154). Besides these and other hke changes, the right of 
suffrage was bestowed on ten thousand emancipated slaves ; while 
Italians and others, who had been on the Marian side, were de- 
prived of it. In the year 80 B.C., Sulla caused himself to be 
elected Consul. The next year he retired from office to his coun- 
try estate, and gave himself up to amusements and sensual pleasure. 
A part of his time — for he was not without a taste for hterature 
— he devoted to the writing of his memoirs, which, however, have 
not come down to us. He died in 78. 



CHAPTER II. 

POMPEIUS AND THE EAST: TO THE DEATH OF CRASSUS 
(78-53 B.C.). 

War with Sertorius. — Not many years after Sulla's death, his 
reforms were annulled. This was largely through the agency of 
Cneius Po7npeius, who had supported Sulla, but was not a uniform 
or consistent adherent of the aristocratic party. He did not be- 
long to an old family, but had so distinguished himself that Sulla 
gave him a triumph. Later he rose to still higher distinction by 
his conduct of the war against Sertorius in Spain, a brave and 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 59 

able man of the Marian party, who was supported there for a long 
time by a union of Spaniards and Romans. Not until jealousy 
arose among his officers, and Sertorius was assassinated, was the 
formidable rebellion put down (72). 

The Gladiatorial War. — Pompeius had the opportunity still 
further to distinguish himself on his way back from Spain. A 
gladiator, Spartacus, started a revolt among his companions. He 
called about him slaves and outlaws until with an army of one hun- 
dred thousand men he defeated the Roman generals, and threat- 
ened Rome itself. For two years they ravaged Italy at their will. 
They were vanquished by Marcus Crass us in 71, in two battles, in 
the last of which Spartacus fell. The remnant of them, a body 
of five thousand men, who had nearly reached the Alps, were 
annihilated by Pompeius, 

Pompeius : Crassus : Cicero. — Crass us was a man of great 
wealth and of much shrev/dness. Pompeius was bland and digni- 
fied in his ways, a valiant, though sometimes over-cautious, general. 
These two men, in 70 B.C., became consuls. They had resolved 
to throw themselves for support on the middle class at Rome. 
Pompeius, sustained by his colleague, secured the abrogation of 
some of the essential changes made by Sulla. The Tribunes re- 
ceived back their powers, and the independence of the Assembly 
of the Tribes was restored. The absolute power of the Senate over 
the law-courts was taken away. These measures were carried in 
spite of the resistance of that body. Pompeius was aided by the 
great advocate, Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born at Arpinum 
in 106 B.C., of an equestrian family. He had been a diligent stu- 
dent of law and politics, and also of the Greek philosophy, and 
aspired to distinction in civil life. He studied rhetoric under 
Molo, first at Rome and then at Rhodes, during a period of ab- 
sence from Italy, which continued about two years. On his return 
(in 77 B.C.), he resumed legal practice. Cicero was a man of 
extraordinary and various talents, and a patriot, sincerely attached 
to the repubhcan constitution. He was humane and sensitive, and 
much more a man of peace than his eminent contemporaries. His 
foibles, the chief of which was the love of praise, were on the sur- 
face ; and, if he lacked some of the robust qualities of the great 
Roman leaders of that day, he was likewise free from some of 
their sins. The captivating oratory of Cicero found a field for its 
exercise in the impeachment of Verres, whose rapacity, as Roman 
governor of Sicily, had fairly desolated that wealthy province. 
Cicero showed such vigor in the prosecution that Verres was driven 
into exile. This event weakened the senatorial oligarchy, and 
helped Pompeius in his contest with it. 

War with the Pirates. — In 69 B.C., Pompeius retired from 
office ; but, two years later, he assumed command in the war 



l6o ANCIENT HISTORY. 

against the pirates. These had taken possession of creeks and 
valleys in Western Cilicia and Famphy/ia, and had numerous 
fleets. Not confining their depredations to the sea, they plun- 
dered the coasts of Italy, and stopped the grain-ships on which 
Rome depended for food. Pompeiiis undertook to exterminate 
this piratical community. By the Gabinian Law, he was clothed 
with more power than had ever been committed to an individual. 
He was to have absolute command over the Mediterranean and 
its coasts for fifty miles inland. He used this unlimited authority 
for war purposes alone, and, in three months, completely accom- 
plished the work assigned him. He captured three thousand 
vessels, and put to death ten thousand men. Twenty thousand 
captives he settled in the interior of Cilicia. 

Pompeius in the East. — The success oi Pojnpeiiis was the prel- 
ude to a wider extension of his power and his popularity. After 
the return of Sulla from the East, another Mitlwidatic War (83-81), 
the second in the series, had ended in the same terms of peace that 
had been agreed upon before (p. 157). In 74 the contest began 
anew against Miihridates, and Tigranes of Armenia, his son-in-law. 
For a number of years Lucullus, the Roman commander, was suc- 
cessful ; but finally MitJuidates regained what he had lost, and 
kept up his aggressive course. In 66 B.C., on a motion that was 
supported by Cicet-o, but opposed by the aristocratic party in the 
Senate, Pompeius was made commander in the East for an indefi- 
nite term. So extensive powers had never before been committed 
to a Roman. He drove Miihridates out of Pontus into Armenia. 
Tigranes laid his crown at the feet of the Roman general, and was 
permitted to retain Armenia. Miihridates fled beyond the Cau- 
casus, and, in 63 B.C., committed suicide. Pompeius overthrew 
the Syrian kingdom of the Seleucidce. He enX&xzAJudata, captured 
Jerusalem from Aristobulus the reigning prince, and placed his 
brother Hyrcanus on the throne, who became tributary to Rome. 
Pompeius with his officers entered the sanctuary of the temple, and 
was surprised to find there neither image nor statue. He estab- 
hshed in the Roman territories in Asia the two provinces, Pontus 
and SyiHa, and re-organized the province of Cilicia. Several king- 
doms he allowed to remain under Roman protection. After this 
unexampled exercise of power and responsibility as the disposer 
of kingdoms, he slowly returned to Italy, dismissed his army at 
Brundisium, and entered the capital as a private citizen, where, 
in 61 B.C., he enjoyed a magnificent triumph that lasted for two 
days. 

The Roman Triumph. — The most coveted reward of a victorious gen- 
eral was a triumph. It was granted by a vote of the Senate and according 
to certain rules, some of which, however, were often relaxed. The general 
must have held the office of dictator, consul, or praetor ; at least five thousand 



ROMAN HISTORY. l6l 

of the enemy must have been slain in a single battle ; the war must have been 
against public foes, etc. The general, with his army, remained without the 
city until the triumph had been decreed by the Senate, which also assembled 
without the walls to deliberate on the question. The pageant itself, in later 
times, was of the most splendid character. It consisted of a procession 
which entered the " Triumphal Gate," and passed through the Via Sacra, up 
the Capitoline Hill to the Temple of Jupiter, where sacrifices were offered. 
In front were the Senate, headed by the magistrates. Then came a body of 
trumpeters, who immediately preceded the long trains of carriages and frames 
which displayed the spoils of conquest, including statues, pictures, gorgeous 
apparel, gold and silver, and whatever else had been borne away from the 
conquered people. Pictures of the country traversed or conquered, and mod- 
els of cities and forts, were exhibited. Behind the spoils came flute-players, 
and these were followed by elephants and other strange animals. Ne.xt were 
the arms and insignia of the hostile leaders ; and after them marched the lead- 
ers themselves and their kindred, and all the captives of less rank, in fetters. 
The crowns and other tributes voluntarily given to the general by Roman 
allies next appeared, and then the central figare of the procession, the im- 
perator himself, standing in a chariot drawn by four horses, clad in a robe 
embroidered with gold, and a flowered tunic, in his right hand a bough of 
laurel and in his left a scepter, with a wreath of laurel on his brow, and a slave 
standing behind, and holding a crown over his head. Behind him in the pro- 
cession were his family, then the mounted equites and the whole body of the 
infantry, their spears adorned with laurels, making the air ring with their shouts 
and songs. Meantime the temples were open, and incense was burned to the 
gods ; buildings were decorated with festal garlands ; the population, in holiday 
dress, thronged the steps of the public buildings and stages erected to command 
a view, and in every place where a sight of the pageant could be obtained. 
As the procession climbed the Capitoline Hill, some of the captives of rank 
were taken into the adjoining Alamcrtine prison, and barbarously put to 
death. In the lower chamber of that ancient dungeon, which the traveler 
still visits, ■Jugiirtha and many other conquered enemies perished. After 
the sacrifices had been offered, the imperator sat down to a public feast 
with his friends in the temple, and was then escorted home by a crowd of 
citizens. 

The ovation was a lesser triumph. The general entered the city on foot, 
and the ceremonies were of a much inferior cast. 

Conspiracy of Catiline. — Meanwhile at Rome, the state had 
been endangered by the combination of democrats and anarchists 
in the conspiracy of Catiline. The well-contrived plot of this 
audacious and profligate man was detected and crushed by the vigi- 
lance and energy of the consul Cicero, whose four speeches on 
the subject, two to the Senate and two to the people, are among the 
most celebrated of all his orations. Catiline was forced to fly from 
Rome ; and several of his prominent accomplices were put to death 
by the advice of Cato (the younger), the leader of the Senatorial 
party, and by the vote of the Senate. This was done without asking 
for the verdict of tlie people, and for this reason was not warranted 
by the law ; but it was declared to be needful for the salvation of 
the state. The next year Catiline was killed in battle, and his 
force dispersed by the army of the Senate. A turn of party feeling 
afterwards exiled Cicero for departing from the law in the execu- 
tion of the conspirators. 



l62 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Julius Caesar. — Another person strong enough to be the rival 
of Pompeius was now on the stage of action. This was Caius 
Julius CcBsar, who proved himself to be, on the whole, the fore- 
most man of the ancient Roman world. Caesar's talents were ver- 
satile, but in nothing was he weak or superficial. He was great as 
a general, a statesman, an orator, and an author. With as much 
power of personal command over men as Hannibal had possessed, 
he was likewise an agreeable companion of men of letters and 
in general society. Every thing he did he appeared to do with 
ease. By his family connections he was naturally designated as 
the leader of the popular, Marian party. He was the nephew of 
Marius and the son-in-law of Cinna. Sulla had spared his life, 
although he had courageously refused to obey the dictator's com- 
mand to put away his wife ; but he had been obliged to quit 
Rome. At the funeral oi Julia, the widow of Marius, he had 
been bold enough to exhibit the bust of that hero, — an act that 
involved risk, but pleased the multitude. He was suspected of 
being privy to Catiline's plot, and in the Senate spoke against the 
execution of his confederates. In 65 he was elected ^^dile, but 
his profuse expenditures in providing games plunged him heavily 
in debt ; so that it was only by advances made to him by Crassus 
that he was able, after being praetor, to go to Spain (in 61), where, 
as proprsetor, he first acquired military distinction. Prior to his 
sojourn in Spain, by his bold political conduct, in opposition to the 
Senate, and on the democratic side, he had made himself a favor- 
ite of the people. 

The First Triumvirate. — Pompeius was distrusted and feared 
by the Senate ; but, on seeing that he took no measures to seize on 
power at Rome, they proceeded to thwart his wishes, and denied 
the expected allotments of land to his troops. The circum- 
stances led to the formation of the first Triumvirate, which was an 
informal alliance between Pompeius, Ccesar, and Crassus, against 
the Senatorial oligarchy, and for the protection and furtherance of 
their own interests. Ccesar became consul in 59 B.C. He gave 
his daughter Julia in marriage to Pompeius. Gaul, both Cis- 
alpine, and Transalpine {Gallia Narbonensis^,^ds given to Cce- 
sar to govern for five years. Cato was sent off to take possession 
of the kingdom of Cyprus. Cicero, who was midway between the 
two parties, was exiled on motion of the radical tribune, Clodius. 
But the md.ependent and violent proceedings of this demagogue 
led Pompeius to co-operate more with the Senate. Cicero was 
recalled (57 B.C.). A jealousy, fomented by the Senate, sprang 
up between Pompeius and Crassus. By Ccesar's efforts, a better 
understanding was brought about between the triumvirs, and it 
was agreed that his own proconsulship should be prolonged for a 
second term of five years. Pompeius received the Spains, and 



ROMAN HISTORY. 163 

Crassits, who was avaricious, was made proconsul of Syria, and 
commander of the armies in the Oriental provinces. In an expe- 
dition against the Parthians in 53, he perished. 

Caesar in Gaul. — The campaigns of Ccesar '\w Gaul covered a 
period of eight years. An admirable narrative of them is pre- 
sented by himself in his Cotnmentaries. 

The Gauls. — The Gauls were Celts. The Celts were spread over the most of Gaul, 
over Britain and the north of Italy. In Gaul, there were three general divisions of people, 
each subdivided into tribes. These were the Bclgce, the Galli, and the Aqititani, the last of 
whom, however, were not Celts, but, like the Iberians in Spain, belonged to a ire-Celtic race. 
The Heh'ctii and Viiidclici were in Switzerland. The Celts of 6^«?c/"had attained to a consid- 
erable degree of civilization. Their gods were the various objects of nature personified. Their 
divinities are described by Caesar as corresponding in their functions to the gods of Rome. 
Their priests were the Z^r/^Vj, a close corporation, but not hereditary. They not only con- 
ducted worship: they were the lav/givers, judges, and physicians of the people. They pos- 
sessed a mysterious doctrine, which they taught to the initiated. They held a great yearly 
assembly for the trial of causes. The Bards stood in connection with the Druidical order. 
In worship, human sacrifices were oftered in large numbers, the victims being prisoners, slaves, 
criminals, etc. There were temples, but thick groves were the favorite seats of worship. 
Ccesar says that the Gauls were strongly addicted to religious observances. In their character 
they are described as brave and impetuous in an on,set, but as lacking persistency. 

The Celts in Britain were less civilized than their kinsfolk across the channel. But in 
their customs and religious beliefs and usages, they were similar to them. They probably 
came over from Gaul. 

Conquest of Gaui.. — The first victory of Caesar was in conflict 
with the Helvetii, who had invaded Gaul, and whom he drove back 
to their homes in the Alps. The Gallic tribes applied to him for 
help against the Germans, who had been led over the Rhine by 
Ariovistus, chief of the Suevi. Him dzsar forced to return to the 
other side of tlie river. The Gallic tribes, fearing the power of 
Cffisar, stirred up the Belgce, the most warlike of all the Gauls. 
These Cassar subdued, and also, with less difficulty, conquered the 
other nations of Gaul. Twice, in conflict with the Germans, he 
crossed the Rhine ueax Bonn and Aiidernach (55 and 53 B.C.). 
Twice, ■aX'iO (55 and 54 B.C.), he landed in Britain. On the second 
expedition he crossed the Thames. In 52 there was a general 
insurrection of the Gauls under Vercingetorix, a brave chieftain, 
to conquer whom required all of Caesar's strength and skill. The 
result of eight years of hard and successful warfare was the sub- 
jugation of all Gaul from the Rhine to the Pyrenees. The Celts 
were subdued, and steps taken which resulted in their civilization. 
A barrier was placed in the way of the advance of the Germans, 
which availed for this end during several centuries. By his suc- 
cesses in Gaul, Csesar acquired a fame as a general, which partly 
eclipsed the glory previously gained by Pompeius in the East. He 
became, also, the leader of veteran legions who were devoted to 
his interests. 



1 64 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

CHAPTER III. 
POMPEIUS AND CiESAE,: THE SECOND TRIUMVIRATE. 

The Civil War. — The rupture between Pompeius and Ccesar 
brought on another civil war, and subverted the Roman republic. 
They were virtually regents. The triumvirs had arranged with one 
another for the partition of power. The death of Crassus took 
away a link of connection which had united the two survivors. The 
death oi Julia, the beautiful daughter of CcBsar, in 54 B.C., had 
previously dissolved another tie. Pompeius contrived to remain in 
Rome, and to govern Spain by legates. Each of the two rivals had 
his active and valiant partisans in the city. The spoils of Gaul were 
sent to be expended in the erection of costly buildings, and in pro- 
viding entertainments for the populace. To Pompey, in turn, Rome 
owed the construction of the first stone theater, which was dedi- 
cated with unprecedented show and splendor. Bloody conflicts 
between armed bands of adherents of the two leaders were of daily 
occurrence. Clodius, an adherent of Csesar and a reckless parti- 
san, was slain by Milo, in a conflict on the Appian Way. The 
Senate and the republicans, of Avhom Cato was the chief, in order 
to curb the populace, and out of enmity to Caesar, allied them- 
selves with Pompeiics. It was determined to prevent him from 
standing as a candidate for the consulship, unless he should lay 
down his command, and come to Rome. He offered to resign his 
military power if Pompeius would do the same. This was refused. 
Finally he was directed to give up his command in Gaul before the 
expiration of the time which had been set for the termination of it. 
This order, if carried into effect, would have reduced him to the 
rank of a private citizen, and have left him at the mercy of his 
enemies. The tribunes, including his devoted supporter, Marcus 
Antonius, in vain interposed the veto, and fled from the city. Cczsar 
determined to disobey the order of the Senate. His legions — two 
had been withdrawn on the false pretext of needing them for the 
Parthian war — clung to him, with the exception of one able officer, 
T. Labienus. Ccesar acted with great promptitude. He crossed 
the Rubicon, the boundary of the Gallic Cisalpine province, before 
Po77ipeius — who had declared, that with a stamp of his foot he 
could call up armed men from the ground — had made adequate 
preparations to meet him. The strength of Pompeius was mainly 
in the East, the scene of his former glory ; and he was, perhaps, 
not unwilling to retire to tljat region, taking with him the throng 
of aristocratic leaders, who fled precipitately on learning of the 
approach of Ccesar. Pompeius sailed from Brundisium to Epirus. 
Cicero, who had ardently desired an accommodation between the 
rivals, was in an agony of doubt as to what course it was right and 



ROMAN HISTORY. 165 

best for him to take, since he saw reason to dread the triumph of 
either side. Reluctantly he decided to cast in his lot with the 
Senate and its newly gained cham.pion. 

Pharsalus : Thapsus : Munda. — Csesar gained the advantage 
of securing the state treasure which Pompeius had unaccountably 
left behind him, and was able to establish his power in Italy. Be- 
fore pursuing Pompeius, he marched through Gaul into Spain 
(49 B.C.), conquered the Pompeian forces at Ile7'da, and secured 
his hold upon that country. He then crossed the Adriatic, He 
encountered Pompeius, who could not manage his imprudent 
officers, on the plain of F/iarsaliis (48 B.C.), where the senatorial 
army was completely overthrown. Pompeius sailed for Egypt ; but, 
just as he was landing, he was treacherously assassinated. His 
head was sent to Ccesar, who wept at the spectacle, and punished 
the murderers. Ccesar gained friends everywhere by the exercise 
of a judicious clemency, which accorded with his natural disposi- 
tion. He next went to Egypt. There he was met by Cleopatra, 
whose dazzling beauty captivated him. She reigned in conjunction 
with her younger brother, who, according to the Egyptian usage, 
was nominally her husband. The Egyptians were roused against 
C^sar, and, on one occasion, he saved his life by swimming ; but 
he finally defeated and destroyed the Egyptian army. At Zela, in 
Pontus, he met and vanquished Pharuaces, the revolted son of 
Mithridates, and sent the laconic message, " Veni, vidi, vici " (I 
came, I saw, I conquered). Early in 46 he landed in Africa, 
and, at Thapsus, annihilated the republican forces in that region. 
A most powerful combination was made against him in Spain, 
including some of his old officers and legionaries, and the two sons 
of Pompeius. But in the hard-fought battle at Munda (March, 
45 B.C.), when Csesar was himself in great personal danger, he 
was, as usual, triumphant. 

Caesar as a Civilian. — Marvelous as the career of Ccesar as 
a general was, his merit as a civihan outstrips even his distinction 
as a soldier. He saw that the world could no longer be governed 
by the Roman rabble, and that monarchy was the only alternative. 
He ruled under the forms of the old constitution, taking the post 
of dictator and censor for life, and absorbing in himself the other 
principal republican offices. The whole tendency of his measures, 
which were mostly of'a very wholesome character, was not only to 
remedy abuses of administration, but to found a system of orderly 
administration in which Rome should be not the sole mistress, 
but simply the capital, of the world-wide community which had 
been subjected to her authority. 

The Government of Caesar. — Caesar made the Senate an advisory 
body. He increased the number of senators, bringing in provincials as well 
as Roman citizens. He gave full citizenship to all the Transpadane Gauls, 



l66 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

and to numerous communities in Transalpine Gaul, in Spain, and elsewhere. 
He established a wide-spread colonization, thus planting his veterans in dif- 
ferent places abroad, and lessening the number of proletarians in Italy. He 
rebuilt Carthage and Corinth. He re-organized the army, and the civil ad- 
ministration in the provinces. In the space of five years, while he was busy 
in important wars, he originated numerous governmental measures of the 
utmost value. 

The Motives of Caesar. — The designs of Csesar and of his party are 
to be distinguished from what they actually accomplished. Caesar was not 
impelled by a desire to improve the government of the provinces, in taking 
up arms against the Senate. Nor did he owe his success to the support of 
provincials; although, in common with the rest of the democratic party at 
Rome, he was glad to have them for allies. The custom had grown up of 
virtually giving to eminent generals, absolute power for extended intervals. 
This was done, for example, in the case of Marius, on the occasion of the 
invasion of the Cimbrians and Teutones. In such exigencies, it was found 
necessary to create what was equivalent to a military dictatorship. The idea 
of military rule became familiar. The revolution made by Caesar was achieved 
by military organization, and was a measure of personal self-defense on his 
part. Being raised to the supreme power, he sought to rule according to 
the wise and liberal ideas which were suggested by the actual condition of the 
world, and the undesirableness of a continued domination of a single city, 
with such a populace as that of Rome. Before he could carry out his large 
schemes, he was cut down. 

Assassination of Caesar. — Caesar was tired of staying in Rome, 
and was proposing to undertake an expedition against the Par- 
thians. Neither his clemency nor the necessity and the merits 
of the government sustained by him, availed to shield him against 
the machinations of enemies. The aristocratic party detested his 
policy. He was suspected of aiming at the title, as well as the 
power, of a king. A conspiracy made up of numerous senators 
who secretly hated him, of other individuals influenced by personal 
spite, and of republican visionaries like Cassiiis and Junius Brutus, 
who gloried in what they considered tyrannicide, assaulted him on 
the ides of March (March 15, 44 B.C.) in the hall of Pofiipeius, 
whither he had come to a session of the Senate. He received 
twenty-three wounds, one of which, at least, was fatal, and fell, 
uttering, a tradition said, a word of gentle reproach to Brutus, 
one who had been counted a special friend. Cicero had acquiesced 
in the new government, and eulogized Ccesar and his administra- 
tion. But even he expressed his satisfaction at the event which 
left the republic without a master. An amnesty to those who slew 
Caesar was advocated by him, and decreed by the Senate. 

The Second Triumvirate. — The Senate gave to the leading 
conspirators provinces ; to Decinius Brutus, Cisalpine Gaul. But 
at Rome there was quickly a re-action of popular wrath against 
the enemies of Caesar, which was skillfully fomented by Marcus 
Antonius in the address which he made to the people over his 
dead body, pierced with so many wounds. The people voted to 
give Cisalpine Gaul to Antonius, and he set out to take it from 
Decimus Brutus by force of arms. Cicero delivered a famous series 



ROMAN HISTORY. 167 

of harangues against Antonius, called the Philippics. Antonius, 
being defeated, fled to Lepidus, the governor of Transalpine Gaul. 
Octavius, the grand-nephew and adopted son of Ccesar, a youth 
of eighteen, now became prominent, and at first was supported 
by the Senate in the hope of balancing the power of Antonius. 
But in October, 43, Ociavianus (as he was henceforward called), 
Anionius, and Lepidus together formed a second triumvirate, 
which became legal, by the ratification of the people, for the 
period of five years. A proscription for the destruction of the 
enemies of the three contracting parties v/as a part of this alliance. 
A great number were put to death, among them Cicero, a sacri- 
fice to the vengeance of Antonius. War against the republicans 
was the necessary consequence. At Philippi in Thrace, in the 
year 42, Antonius and Octavianus defeated Brutus and Cassius, 
both of whom committed suicide. Porcia, the wife of Brutus, and 
the daughter of Cato, on hearing of her husband's death, put an 
end to her own life. Many other adherents of the republic fol- 
lowed the example of their leaders. The victors divided the world 
between themselves, Antonius taking the east, Octatnanus the west, 
while to the weak and avaricious Lepidus, Africa was assigned ; but 
he was soon deprived of his share by Octavianus. 

Civil War: Actium. — Antonius wSi% enamoured of Cleopatra, 
and, following her to Egypt, gave himself up to luxury and sensual 
gratification. Civil war between Octavianus and the followers of 
Antonius in Italy (40, 41 B.C.) was followed by the marriage of 
Octavia, the sister of Octavianus, to Antonius. But after a suc- 
cession of disputes between the two regents, there was a final 
breach. Antonius (35) went so far as to give Roman territories 
to the sons of Cleopatra, and to send to Octavia papers of divorce. 
The Senate, at the instigation of Octavianus, deprived his unworthy 
colleague of all his powers. War was declared against Cleopati'a. 
East and West were arrayed in arms against one another. The 
conflict was determined by the naval victory of Octavianus at Acti- 
um (Sept. 2, 31 B.C.). Before the battle was decided, Cleopatra 
fled, and was followed by Antonius. When the latter approached 
Alexandria, Antonius, deceived by the false report that Cleopatra 
had destroyed herself, threw himself upon his sword and died. 
Cleopatra, finding herself unable to fascinate the conqueror, but 
believing that he meant that she should adorn his public triumph 
at Rome, poisoned herself (30). Egypt wsiS made into a Roman 
province. The month Sextilis, on which Octavianus returned to 
Rome, received in honor of him the name of " August," from 
"Augustus," the "venerated" or "illustrious," the name given 
him in 27 B.C. by the Roman people and Senate. He celebrated 
three triumphs ; and, for the third time since the city was founded, 
the Temple of Janus was closed. 



Period V. 
THE IMPERIAL MONARCHY: 

TO THE MIGRATIONS OF THE TEUTONIC TRIBES {375 A.D.). 



CHAPTER I. 

THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS. 

Augustus as a Ruler. — The long-continued, sanguinary civil 
wars made peace welcome. Augustus knew how to conceal his 
love of power under a mild exterior, and to organize the monarchy 
with a nominal adherence to republican forms. The controlling 
magistracies, except the censorship, were transferred to him. As 
Imperator, he had unlimited command over the military forces, 
and was at the head of a standing army of three hundred and 
forty thousand men. To him it belonged to decide on peace and 
war. The Senate became the real legislative body, issuing senatus- 
consulta. There was also a sort of "cabinet council" chosen 
by him from its members. The authority of the Tribunes belonged 
to him, and thus the popular assemblies became more and more a 
nullity. " The Senate was made up of his creatures ; the people 
were won by bread and games ; the army was fettered to him by 
means of booty and gifts." While the forms of a free state re- 
mained, all the functions of authority were exercised by the ruler. 

State of the Empire. — (i) Its Extent. The Roman Empire extended 
from the Atlantic to the Euphrates, a distance of more than three thousand 
miles, and from the Danube and the English Channel — later, from the friths 
of Scotland — to the cataracts of the Nile and the African desert. Its popula- 
tion was somewhere from eighty millions to one hundred and twenty millions. 
It was composed of the East and the West, a distinction that was not simply 
geographical, but included deeper characteristic differences. (2) The Prov- 
inces. The provinces were divided (27 B.C.) into the proconsular, ruled by 
the Senate, and the imperial, ruled by the legates of Augustus. His author- 
ity, however, was everywhere supreme. Over all the empire extended the 
system of Roman law, the rights and immunities of which belonged to Roman 
citizens everywhere. (3) The Two Languages. It was a Romano-Helleitic 
monarchy. Local dialects remained; but the Greek language was the lan- 
guage of commerce, and of polite intercourse in all places. The Greek 
tongue and Hellenic culture were the common property of the nations. The 
Latin was prevalent west of the Adriatic. It was adopted in Africa, Spain, 
Gaul, and in other provinces. It was the language of courts and of the 



ROMAN HISTORY. 169 

camp. (4) Journeys and Trade. The Roman territory was covered with a 
net-work of magniticent roads. Journeys for purposes of trade and from 
motives of curiosity were common. Religious pilgrimages to famous shrines 
were frequent. The safety and peace which followed upon the civil wars 
stimulated traffic and intercourse between the different regions united under 
the imperial government. 

Literature. — The Augustan period was the golden age of Roman litera- 
ture. Literary works were topics of conversation in social circles. Libraries 
were collected by the rich. The shops of booksellers were places of resort 
for cultivated people. There were active and liberal patrons of poets and of 
other men of letters. Such patrons were Macenas, Horace's friend, and Au- 
gMstiis himself. Then favors were repaid by praises and flattery, as we see in 
the verses of Horace, Virgil, and especially of Ovid. The lectures of gram- 
marians and rhetoricians, of philosophers and physicians, were largely at- 
tended. Literary societies were formed. Periodicals and bulletins were 
published, in which the proceedings of the Senate and of the courts were 
recorded. The business of scribes — copyists of manuscripts — engaged a 
vast number of persons. 

Writings of Cicero. — Cicero (106-43), ''^ '^'^ philosophic writings, 
reproduces the thoughts and speculations of the Greek sages, in the manner 
of a cultivated and appreciative student. His speeches and his epistles, espe- 
cially those to his friend, Atticus, lift the veil, as it were, and afford us most 
interesting glimpses of the civil and social life of the Romans of that day. 

The Poets. — One of the most original of the Latin poets is Lucretius 
(95-51 B.C.), whose poem "On the Nature of Things" is an effort to dispel 
superstitious fear by inculcating the Epicurean doctrine that the world is self- 
made through the movement and concussion of atoms, and that the gods leave 
it to care for itself. A contemporary of Lucretius, and a poet of equal merit, 
but in an altogether different vein, is Catullus. He is chiefly noted for his 
lyrics. F>>o-// (70-19 B.C.), in the j^neid, has produced a genuine Roman 
epic, although his dependence on Homer is obvious throughout, and in the 
Bucolics, and in particular in the Georgics, where he shows most originality, 
has made himself immortal as a pastoral poet. Horace (65-8 B C), like most 
of the Roman authors, in many of his poems is inspired by his Greek models, 
but, in his Satires and Poetic Epistles, expresses the character of his own 
genius. His "Odes," for their beauty and melody and the variety of their 
topics, rank among the best of all productions of their kind. Ovid {i,T, B.C.- 
A.D. 18), in his chief work, the Metainorphoscs,\\-A.\\A\zA the mythical talesof 
the Greeks, and, in his poems on Love, likewise introduced many Grecian 
tales. He was much influenced by the Alexandrian poets. 

The Historians. — In historical composition, most of the Roman authors 
had Greek patterns before their eyes. Nevertheless, Livy (59 B.C.-A.D. 17), 
thirty-five of the one hundred and forty-two books of whose " Annals " have 
been preserved, and Sallust, to whom we are indebted for narratives of the 
conspiracy of Cataline and of the Jugurthine war, are far from being servile 
copyists. The simple and lucid but graceful style of the Covinieutaries of 
Ccesar makes this work an example of the jnirest Latin prose. 

LaTV Writers. — In one department, that of jurisprudence, the Romans 
were eminently original. The writings of the great jurists were simple and 
severe, and free from the rhetorical traits which Roman authors in other 
departments borrowed from the Greeks. 

Other Authors. — Among other eminent authors of this period are the great Roman 
antiquary, I'arro (116-27 R-C.) ; the elegiac poets, Tihiilhis and Prof>crtius; Plicrdrus, the 
Roman j'Esop; the historian, Corticliiis Ncf>os ; and the Greek historical writers of that day, 
Diodorc of Sicily and Dioaysius of Halicarnassus; also, Strabo, the Greek geographer (64 
B.C.-A.D. 24). 



I/O ANCIENT HISTORY. 



THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 

The Jews and their Dispersion. — There were three ancient 
peoples, each of which fulfilled an office of its own in history. The 
Greeks were the intellectual people, the Romans were founders in 
law and politics : from the Heln-ews the true religion was to spring. 
At the epoch of the birth of Jesus, the Hebrews, like the Greeks 
and Romans, were scattered abroad, and mingled with all other 
nations. Wherever they went they carried their pure monotheism, 
and built their synagogues for instruction in the law and for com- 
mon worship. In the region of Babylon, a multitude of Jews had 
remained after the captivity. Two out of the five sections of 
Alexandria were occupied by them. At Antioch in Syria, the 
other great meeting-place of peoples of diverse origin and reli- 
gion, they were very numerous. In the cities of Asia Minor, of 
Greece and Macedonia, in Illyricum and in Rome, they were 
planted in large numbers. Jewish merchants went wherever there 
was room for profitable trade. Generally regarded with aversion on 
account of their religious exclusiveness, they nevertheless made so 
many proselytes that the Roman philosopher, Seneca, said of them, 
" The conquered have given laws to the conquerors." Prophecy 
had inspired the Jews with an abiding and fervent expectation of 
the ultimate conquest of heathenism, and prevalence of their faith. 
If the hope of a temporal Messiah to free them from the Roman 
yoke, and to lead them to an external victory and dominion, 
burned in the hearts of most, there were some of a more spiritual 
mind and of deeper aspirations, who looked for One who should 
minister to the soul, and bring in a reign of holiness and peace. 

Preparation for Christianity among the Heathen. — In the 
heathen world, there was not wanting a preparation for such a De- 
liverer. , The union of all the nations in the Roman Empire had 
lessened the mutual antipathy of peoples, melted down barriers of 
feeling as well as of intercourse, and weakened the pride of race. 
An indistinct sense of a common humanity had entered the breasts 
of men. Writers, like Cicero, talked of a great community, a single 
society of gods and men. The Stoic philosophy had made this idea 
familiar. Mankind, it was said, formed one city. Along with this 
conception, precepts were uttered in favor of forbearance and fra- 
ternal kindness between man and man. In religion, there was a 
drift towards monotheism. The old mythological religion was de- 
caying, and traditional beliefs as to divine things were dissolving. 
Many minds were yearning for something to fill the void, — for a 
more substantial ground of rest and of hope. They longed for a 
goal on which their aspirations might center, and to which their ex- 
ertions might tend. The burden of sin and of suffering that rested 
on the common mass excited at least a vague yearning for deliver- 



ROMAN HISTORY. I/I 

aiice. The Roman Empire, with all its treasures and its glory, 
failed to satisfy the hearts of men. The dreams of philosophy 
could not be realized on the basis of ancient society, where the 
state was every thing, and where no higher, more comprehensive 
and more enduring kingdom could spring into being. 

Christ and the Apostles. — Four years before the date assigned 
for the beginning of the Christian era, Jesus was born. Herod, 
a tyrannical king, servile in his attitude toward the Romans, and 
subject to them, was then ruling over the Jews in Palestine. But, 
when Jesus began his public ministry, the kingship had been abol- 
ished, and Judffia was governed by the procurator, Pontius Pilate 
(A.D. 26). Jesus announced himself as the Messiah, the founder 
of a kingdom " not of this world ; " the members of which were 
to be brethren, having God for their Father. He taught in a tone 
of authority, yet with "a sweet reasonableness ; " and his wonderful 
teaching was accompanied with marvelous works of power and 
mercy, as " he went about doing good." He attached to himself 
twelve disciples, among whom Peter, and the two brothers James 
2ssAJohn, were the men of most mark. These had listened to the 
preaching of John, the prophet of the wilderness, by whom Jesus 
had been recognized as the Christ who was to come. The minis- 
try of the Christ produced a wide-spread excitement, and a deep 
impression upon humble and truth-loving souls. But his rebuke 
of the ruling class, the Pharisees, for their formalism, pretended 
sanctity, self-seeking, and enslavement to tradition, excited in them 
rancorous enmity. His disappointment of the popular desire for 
a political Messiah chilled the enthusiasm of the multitude, many 
of whom had heard him gladly. After about three years, he was 
betrayed by one of his followers, y^^/^x Iscariot ; was accused of 
heterodoxy and blasphemy before the Jewish Sanhedrim ; the con- 
sent of Pilate to his death was extorted by a charge of treason 
based on the title of "king," which he had not refused j and he 
was crucified between two malefactors. Not many days elapsed 
before his disciples rallied from their despondency, and boldly and 
unitedly declared, before magistrates and people, that he had 
manifested himself to them in bodily form, in a series of inter- 
views at definite places and times. They proclaimed his contin- 
ued though invisible reign, his perpetual presence with them, and 
his future advent in power. In his name, and on the ground of 
his death, they preached the forgiveness of sins to all who should 
believe in him, and enter on a life of Christian obedience. In the 
)-ear 33 or 34, the death of Stephen, the first martyr, at the hands 
of a Jewish mob, for a time dispersed the church at Jerusalem, 
and was one step towards the admission of the Gentiles to the 
privileges of the new faith. But the chief agent in effecting this 
result, and in thus giving to Christianity its universal character and 



1/2 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

mission, was the Apostle Paul, a converted Pharisee. Antioch in 
Syria became the cradle of the Gentile branch of the church, and 
of the missions to the heathen, in which Paul was the leader ; while 
Peter was efficient in spreading the gospel among the Jews in Pal- 
estine and beyond its borders. By Paul numerous churches were 
founded in the course of three extended missionary journeys, which 
led him beyond Asia into Macedonia, Greece, and Illyricum. By 
him the gospel was preached from Jerusalem to Rome, where he 
died as a martyr under Nero in 67 or 68. Not far from the same 
time, according to a credible tradition, Peter, also, was put to death 
at Rome. The preachers of the Christian faith pursued their work 
with a fearless and untiring spirit, and met the malignant perse- 
cution of the Jews and the fanatical assaults of the heathen with 
patient endurance and with prayer for the pardon and enlighten- 
ment of their persecutors. 

The Victory of the Germans. — Augustus avoided war when 
he could. His aim was to defend the frontiers of the empire 
rather than to extend them. The Parthians were prevailed on to 
return of their own accord the standards and prisoners taken from 
the army of Crassus. But in Germany, Drusus, the brave step-son 
of Augustus, made four campaigns on the east of the Rhine, as 
far as the Weser and the Elbe. On his way back from the Elbe, 
a fall from his horse terminated his life (9 B.C.). His brother, 
Tiberius, managed to establish the Roman power over a part of 
the Germanic tribes on the right bank of the river (4 B.C.) Long 
before (27 B.C.) the western shore of the river had been formed 
into two provinces, Upper and Lower Germany. An incapable 
and incautious general, Quintilius Varus, excited the freedom- 
loving Germans to revolt under the brave chief of the Cherusci, 
Arminiics (or Hermann). Three Roman legions were annihilated 
in the Teutodurg forest. Varus taking his own life. The civil arid 
military chiefs who were taken captive, the Germans slew as a sac- 
rifice to their gods. The rest of the prisoners were made slaves. 
" Many a Roman from an equestrian or a senatorial house grew old 
in the service of a German farmer, as a servant in the house, or 
in tending cattle without." There in the forest of Teutoburg the 
Germans practically won their independence. On hearing the bad 
news, Augustus, for several days, could only exclaim, " Varus ! give 
me back my legions ! " After the death of Augustus, in his seventy- 
sixth year, the noble son of Drusus, Germanicus, conducted three 
expeditions against Arminius (A.D. 14-16), obtained a victory 
over him, and took his wife prisoner, who died in captivity ; but 
the Romans permanently held only the left bank of the Rhine. 

Roman Life. — Various particulars characteristic of Roman ways have 
been, or will be, incidentally referred to. A few special statements may be 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1/3 

given in this place. The Romans, like the Greeks, built a town round a 
height (or capitol) where was a stronghold (arx), a place of refuge. Here 
temples were erected. The foru/n, or market-jjlace, was near by, where the 
courts sat, and where the people came together to transact business. The 
dwellings were on the sides of the hill, or on the plain beneath. The streets 
were narrow. The exterior of the houses was plain. They were of brick, 
generally covered with stucco, and whitewashed. Glass was too costly to be 
much used : hence the openings in the walls were few. When the space 
became valuable, as in Rome, the houses were built high. The chief room 
in the house was the atrium, which, in earlier times, was not only the common 
room but also the bedroom of the family. In the primitive dwellings it had 
been the only room. A passage led from it through a door-way into the 
street. In front and on both sides were apartments, and in the rear a walled 
court, or garden. Large houses had several inclosed courts. Rich men and 
nobles built magnificent palaces. The walls of Roman dwellings within were 
decorated with fresco-paintings, some of which at Pompeii are left in all their 
freshness. Round the dinner-table were couches, on which those who par- 
took of the meal reclined. In other rooms chairs were plentifully supplied. 
Lamps were very numerous and of beautiful design, but the wick was so small 
that they gave but little light. There was little furniture in the atrium. 
Statues stood round the walls of this room, if the house were one of the better 
sort, and in open presses on the walls were the images or masks of the dis- 
tinguished ancestors of the family. At a funeral of a member of the house- 
hold they were worn in the procession by persons representing the deceased 
progenitors. 

Dress. — The principal material of a Roman's dress was woolen cloth. 
The main article of wearing apparel for a man was the toga, thrown over 
the shoulders, and brought in folds round the waist in a way to leave the 
right arm free. Under it was a tunic. At the age of about seventeen, the 
boy publicly laid aside the toga with a purple hem, and put on the white toga, 
the token of citizenship. Women wore a long tunic girded about the waist, 
with a tunic and a close-fitting vest beneath. Except on a journey or in an 
open theater, as a protection from the sun, neither men nor women wore 
any covering on the head. Women, when they walked abroad, wore veils 
which did not cover the face. The color and form of the shoes varied with 
the rank of the individual, and were significant of it. In the house, sandals 
were used. 

Order of Occupations. — The interval from sunrise to sunset was di- 
vided into twelve hours. The seventh hour of the day began at noon. At 
the third hour, there was usually a light meal, which was followed by busi- 
ness, or visits of friendship. The wealthy Roman was followed about the 
city by a throng of clients, who called on him with their morning greeting 
before he rose, and received their gift of food or money At noon came the 
prandium, or more substantial breakfast. This was followed bv a short 
sleep, in the case of those who were at leisure to take it. Then came games 
and physical exercise of various sorts. A favorite recreation, both for young 
and old, was ball-games. Exercise was succeeded by the bath, for which the 
Romans from the later times of the republic had a remarkable fondness. 
In private houses the bathing conveniences were luxurious. The emperors 
built magnificent bath-houses, which included gymnasia, and sometimes libra- 
ries. What is now called the Turkish bath was very much in vogue. Dinner, 
or the cena, the prmcipal meal, was about midway between noon and sunset. 
The fork was not used at the table, but only in carving; but spoons, and 
sometimes, it would appear, knives, were used by the host and his guests. 
The food was so carved that it was usually taken with the fingers. At the 
table, the toga was exchanged for a lighter garment, and sandals were laid 
aside. The beverage was wine mixed with water. At banquets of the rich, 
after the dessert of fruit and cakes had been taken, there was, in later times, 



174 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

the convivium, or social " drinking-bout." "Under the empire, this became 
often a scene of indecent revelry. The Roman dinner-table was not so likely 
as a Greek repast to be enlivened by flashes of intellect and of wit, or by 
music furnished by the guests. Musicians were more commonly hired per- 
formers, as were also the dancers. The Romans enjoyed games of chance. 
Playing with dice, and gambling along with it, became common. 

Marriage and the Household. — There were two kinds of marriage. 
By one the wife passed entirely out of the hands {maiius) of the father into 
the hands of the husband, or under his control. There was frequently a 
religious rite {confarj-eatio) ; but, when this did not take place, the other 
customary ceremonies were essentially the same. At the betrothal the pro- 
spective bride was frequently presented with a ring, and with some more 
valuable gift, by the man whom she was to marry. In the household, not- 
withstanding the supreme authority of the husband, the wife had an honored 
position and an active influence. The children were, in law, the property of 
the father. Their lives were at his disposal. The mother had charge of their 
early training. The father took the principal charge of the young boy, taught 
him athletic exercises, and took him to the forum with him. Schools began 
to exist in the early period. Boys and girls studied together. The peda- 
gogue was the servant who accompanied the child to school, and conducted 
him home. Greek was studied. The law of the Twelve Tables was committed 
to memory. Virgil and Horace became school-books, along with Cicero and 
earlier writers. In the later republican period, Greeks took the business of 
teaching largely into their hands. There were flourishing schools of rhetoric 
managed both by Greek and by Latin teachers. Young Romans who could 
afford to do so went to Athens and other cities in the East for their university 
training. 

Slaves. — Town-slaves were found in the richer families in great numbers 
(p. 152). They were not only employed in menial occupations; they were 
clerks, copyists, sculptors, architects, etc., as well as actors and singers. The 
work of the farm-slaves was harder. They were shut up in the night in large 
barracks, made partly under ground, into which was admitted but little light 
or air. They often worked in chains. In town and country both, the unlim- 
ited power of the master led to great severity and cruelty in the treatment of 
slaves. Women as well as men were often guilty of brutal harshness. Fe- 
males as well as males were the sufferers. The town-slave, however, might 
be favored by his master : he might be allowed to save money of his own, 
and might, perhaps, buy his freedom, or receive it as a gift. During the holi- 
days of the Sahcnial/'a, slaves were allowed unusual privileges and pleasures. 
The freedmen could become citizens, and were then eligible to any office. 

Magistrates. — A Roman who sought office went round soliciting votes. 
This was called ambitio (from ambire, to go round), whence is derived the 
English word ambition. He presented himself in public places in a toga 
specially whitened, and was hence called a candidate (from Candida, meaning 
ivhite). He sought to get support by providing shows and games. The 
voting was by ballot. RIagistrates had their seats of honor, which were made 
in a particular shape. In the different forms used in the trial of causes, there 
was one general practice, — the magistrate laid down the law, and referred the 
judgment as to the facts in the case to an umpire, either an individual or a 
special court. 



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ROMAN HISTORY. 



175 



THE JULIAN IMPERIAL HOUSE. 



C. Julius C.'esar, m. Aurelia. 



C. Julius Caesar. Julia, ;«. M. Atius Balbus. 

I 
Atia, ni. C. Octavius. 

I 

C> Octavius (adopted as son by the will of Julius) became 

C. Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus, 

m. 2, Scribonia ; -;, Livia. 

I I 

Julia, Tiberius (adopted as 

tn. 2, M. Vipsanius Agrippa. son by Augustus). 



Agrippina, 
m. Gernianiciis. 



Julia, 
>n. /Emilius Paulas. 



Caius (Caligula), 
m. Caesonia, 

I 
Julia Drusilla. 



Agrippina, 
III. Cn. IDomitius. 

I 
L, Domitius Nero, 

m. Poppcea Sabina. 

I 
Claudia Augusta. 



Emilia Lepida, 
m. I, Claudius; 

2, Junius Silanus. 

I 
Junia Calvina, 
tn. Vitellius. 



THE CLAUDIAN IMPERIAL HOUSE. 

Tiberius Claudius Nero. 
tn. Livia Drusilla (afterwards wife of Augustus). 



Tiberius Claudius Nero. 



Drusus Claudius Nero, 

m. Antonia, daughter of the Triumvir 

and niece of Augustus. 



Germanicus, 
m. Agrippina. 



Ti. Claudius Drusus, 

m. ;, Valeria Messalina. 



Octavia, Britannicus. By adoption, 
in. Nero. Nero. 



1/6 ANCIENT HISTORY. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE EMPERORS OF THE AUGUSTAN HOUSE. 

Tiberius. — During the long reign of the prudent Augustus, 
there was peace within the borders of the empire. He said of him- 
self, that he " found Rome of brick, and left it of marble." This 
change may be taken as a symbol of the growth of material pros- 
perity in the Roman dominions. But in his private relations, the 
emperor was less fortunate. His daughter Julia, a woman of 
brilliant talents, disgraced him by her immorality, and he was 
obliged to banish her. Her two elder sons died when they were 
young. The empire devolved on his adopted step-son Tiberius 
(14-37), w'^o endeavored to continue the same conservative 
policy. Tiberius was at first alarmed by mutinies among the 
troops in Pannonia and on the Rhine. The army of the Rhine 
urged Germanicus, the emperor's adopted son and probable suc- 
cessor, to lead it to Rome, promising to place him on the throne, 
but Germanicus succeeded in quieting the disturbance. As there 
were during this reign no great wars, Tiberius was able to devote 
himself more exclusively to the civil administration. He trans- 
ferred from the popular assembly to the Senate the right of choos- 
ing the magistrates, emphasizing in this way the dual system that 
Augustus had created. The rights of the Senate he appeared 
scrupulously to respect. For the more effective government of 
the city of Rome he established there a permanent prefecture and 
brought together in a camp before the Viminal gate the nine 
prsetorian cohorts. Unhappily this Praetorian Guard, which might 
serve to overawe the city mobs, might also interfere in the affairs 
of government. Indeed, a little later it had to be counted with in 
the choice of emperors. The notorious Sejanus was prefect dur- 
ing a large part of this reign, and acquired so completely the 
confidence of Tiberius that he began to plot his overthrow. He 
had already caused Drusus, the son of Tiberius, to be poisoned 
in order to remove one obstacle. Finally the emperor discovered 
his plots and caused him to be arrested and put to death (31). 
For several years Tiberius had been living in retirement on the 
island of Caprece. There his enemies represented him as given 
over to debauchery, while the lives of Roman citizens were never 
safe from his suspicions or from the accusations of the delators, 
men who presented formal charges of crime, there being no public 
prosecutors. Earlier i his reign Tiberius had shown a serious 
purpose to improve the administration of justice, but with the 
lapse of years he became distrustful and cruel. He had, more- 
over, changed the law of treason so that to write or speak slight- 
ingly of the emperor was interpreted as conspiracy to bring the 



ROMAN HISTORY. I// 

commonwealth into contempt and was punished with death. Al- 
though he was justly hated by the Roman nobles, in the provinces 
he was respected because he sought to protect them against 
extortion and to foster their general interests. He died in the 
year 37 at the age of seventy-eight. 

Caligula. — There was no law for the regulation of the succes- 
sion. But the Senate, the praetorians, and the people united in 
calling to the throne Caius, the son of Germanicus (37-41). 
This ruler, called Caligula, at first mild and generous in his 
doings, soon rushed into such excesses of savage cruelty and 
monstrous vice that he was thought to be half- deranged. He 
was fond of seeing with his own eyes the infliction of tortures. 
His wild extravagance in the matter of pubhc games and in build- 
ing drained the resources of the empire. After four years, this 
madman was cut down by two of his guards whom he had griev- 
ously insulted. 

Claudius. — Claudius, the uncle and successor of Caligula, and 
the son of Drusus and Antonia, was not bad, but weak. He was 
a student and a recluse in his habits. His favorites and nearest 
connections were unprincipled. The depravity of his wife, Mes- 
salina, was such that he did right in sanctioning her death. The 
immoral and ambitious Agrippina, whom he next married, had an 
influence less malign. But she was unfaithful to her husband ; 
and this fact, together with the fear she felt that Nero, her son by 
her first marriage, would be excluded from the throne, impelled 
her to the crime of taking the life of Claudius by poison, 

Nero. — A^ero reigned from 54 to 68. He was the grandson of 
Germanicus, and had been the pupil of the philosopher Seneca, 
and of Burrus, an excellent man, the captain of the Praetorian 
Guard. The first five years of Nero's reign were honorably dis- 
tinguished from the portion of it that followed. When a warrant 
for the execution of a criminal was brought to him, he regretted 
that he had ever learned to write. His first great crime was the 
poisoning of Britannicus, the son of Claudius. Nero became en- 
amored of a fierce and ambitious woman, Poppcea Sabina. On 
the basis of false charges, he took the life of his wife, Octavia, 
the daughter of Claudius (A.D. 62). His criminal mother, Agrip- 
pina, after various previous attempts made by him to destroy her, 
was dispatched by his command (A.D. 59). His unbridled cruelty 
and jealousy moved him to order Seneca, one of the men to whom 
he owed most, to commit suicide. He came forward as a inusi- 
cian, and nothing delighted him so much as the applause rendered 
to his musical performances. He recited his own poems, and was 
stung with jealousy when he found himself outdone by Lucan. 
His eagerness to figure as a charioteer prompted him, early in his 
reign, to construct a circus in his own grounds on the Vatican, 



178 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

where he could exhibit his skill as a coachman to a throng of de- 
lighted spectators. At length he appeared, lyre in hand, on the 
stage before the populace. Senators of high descent, and matrons 
of noble family, were induced by his example and commands to 
come forward in public as dancers and play-actors. The public 
treasure he squandered in expensive shows, and in the lavish dis- 
tribution of presents in connection with them. 

The Christians. — Nej'o has the undesirable distinction of being 
the first of the emperors to persecute the Christians. In A.D. 64 
a great fire broke out at Rome, which laid a third of the city in 
ashes. He was suspected of having kindled it ; and, in order to 
divert suspicion from himself, he charged the crime upon the 
Christians, who were obnoxious, Tacitus tells us, on account of 
their " hatred of the human race." Their withdrawal from cus- 
tomary amusements and festivals, which involved immorality or 
heathen rites, naturally gave rise to this accusation of cynical 
misanthropy. A great number were put to death, " and in their 
deaths they were made subjects of sport ; for they were covered 
with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or 
nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and, when day declined, were 
burned to serve for nocturnal lights." At length a feeling of 
compassion arose among the people for the victims of this wanton 
ferocity. Prior to this time, while the Christians were confounded 
with the Jews as one of their sects, they had been more protected 
than persecuted by the Roman authorities. Now that they were 
recognized as a distinct body, — the adherents of a new religion not 
identified with any particular nation, but seeking to spread itself 
everywhere, — they fell under the condemnation of Roman law, 
and were exposed to the hostility of magistrates, as well as to the 
wrath of the fanatical populace. 

Nero was a great builder. The ground which had been burnt 
over in the fire he laid out in regular streets, leaving open spaces, 
and limiting the height of the houses. But a large area he re- 
sei-ved for his " Golden House," which, with its lakes and shady 
groves, stretched over the ground on which the Coliseum afterwards 
stood, and as far as the Esquiline. 

The City of Rome. — Ancient Rome was mostly built on the left bank 
of the Tiber. It spread from the Palatine, the seat of the original settle- 
ment, over six other hills; so that it became the " city of seven hills." All 
of them appeared higher than they do now. Of these hills the Capitoline 
was the citadel and the seat of the gods. In earlier days, from a part of the 
summit, the Tarpeian Rock, criminals were hurled. In time the hill became 
covered with public edifices, of which the grandest was the Temple of " Capi- 
toline Jupiter." On the Palatine were eventually constructed the vast pal- 
aces of the emperors, the ruins of which have been uncovered in recent 
times. The walls of Servius Tullius encompassed the seven hills. The 
walls constructed by Aurelian (270-275 A.D.), Probus, and JIo7torms (402 
A.D.), inclosed an area twelve miles in circumference. The streets were 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1^9 

most of them narrow ; and, to economize space, the houses were built very 
high. One of the finest, as well as most ancient, thoroughfares was the 
Via Sacra, which ran past the Coliseum, or the Flavian amphitheater, and 
under the Triumphal Arch of Titus, erected after the capture of Jerusalem, 
along the east of the Forum to the Capitol. There was a particular street 
in Rome where shoemakers and booksellers were congregated. The central 
part of the city was thronged, and noisy with cries of teamsters and of vend- 
ers of all sorts of wares. The fora — one of which, the " Roman Forum," 
between the Capitoline and the Palatine, was the great center of Roman 
life — were open places paved, and surrounded with noble buildings, — tem- 
ples, and basilicas, or halls of justice. The fora were either places for the 
transaction of public business, or they served the purpose of modern mar- 
ket-places. Among the public buildings of note were the vast colonnades, 
places of resort both for business and for recreation. The sewers, and espe- 
cially the aqueducts, were structures of a stupendous character. Among the 
most imposing edifices in ancient Rome were the baths. Those built by 
Diocletia7i had room for three thousand bathers at once. In these establish- 
ments the beauty of the gardens and fountains without was on a level with 
the elegance of the interior furnishings, and with the attraction of the libra- 
ries, paintings, and sculptures, which added intellectual pleasure to the 
physical comfort for which, mainly, these gigantic buildings were constructed. 
Besides the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, there were many other temples, 
some of which were but little inferior to that majestic edifice. 

The triumphal arches — as that of Titus, already mentioned, which was 
built of Pentelic marble — and the commemorative columns — as the Col- 
umn t)f Trajan, which stood in the forum that bears his name — were among 
the architectural wonders of the ancient capital of the world. The plain, 
named of old the Camptis Martitis, on the north-west side of the city, and 
bordering on the Tiber, contained, among the buildings and pleasure-grounds 
by which it was covered, the Pantheon, and the magnificent mausoleum of 
Augustus. On the south-west of the Coelian Hill, the Appian Way turns to 
the south-east, and passes out of the Appian Gate. It is skirted for miles 
with sepulchral monuments of ancient Romans, of which the circular tomb 
of Metella Ccecilia is one of the most interesting. There are varying esti- 
mates of the population of ancient Rome. Probably the number of free 
inhabitants, in the early centuries of the empire, was not far from a million; 
and the slaves were probably almost as many. 

Death of Nero: Galba. — Growing jealous of the legates who 
commanded armies on the frontiers, Nero determined to destroy 
them. They consequently revolted ; and war between the troops 
of two of them issued in the death of Vindex, the general in Gaul. 
But Galba was deputed to carry on the contest ; and Nero, being 
forsaken even by his creature, Tigellmi/s, and the prastorians, at last 
gained courage to call on a slave to dispatch him, and died (A.D. 
68) at the age of thirty. The principal events out of Italy, 
during his reign, were the revolt of the Britons under the brave 
queen Boadicea (A.D. 6i), and the suppression of it by Sueto7iius 
Paulinus ; the war with the Parthians and Armenians, extending 
slightly the frontier of the empire ; and the beginning of the Jew- 
ish war. Despite the corruption at Rome, her disciplined soldiers 
still maintained their superiority on the borders. 

Otho : Vitellius. — With the death of Nero, the Augustan fam- 
ily came to an end. Galba began the series of military emperors. 



l8o ANCIENT HISTORY. 

A Roman of the old type, simple, severe, and parsimonious, he 
pleased nobody. The praetorians killed him, and elevated Otho, 
a profligate noble, to the throne ; but he was obliged to contend 
with a rival aspirant, Vitellius, commander of the German legions, 
who defeated him, and became emperor A.D. 69. Vitellius was 
not only vicious, like his predecessor, but was cowardly and ineffi- 
cient. The Syrian and Egyptian legions refused to obey so worth- 
less a ruler, and proclaimed their commander, Flavins Vespasian, 
as emperor. As Vespasian's general, Antonius, approached Rome, 
Vitellius renounced the throne, and declared his readiness to retire 
to private life. His adherents withstood him ; and, in the struggle 
that followed between the two parties in the city, the Capitoline 
Temple was burned. The Flavian army took Rome, and Vitellius 
was put to an ignominious death (A.D. 69). 



CHAPTER III. 

THE FLAVIANS AND THE ANTONINES. 

Vespasian : the Jewish War. — Vespasian, the first in the list 
of good emperors, restored discipline in the army and among the 
prsetorians, instituted a reform in the finances, and erected the im- 
mense amphitheater now called the Coliseum, for the gladiatorial 
games. By his general, Cerealis, he put down the revolt in Ger- 
many and Eastern Gaul, and thus saved several provinces to the 
empire. Civilis, the leader of the rebellion, had aimed to estab- 
Hsh an independent German principality on the west of the Rhine. 
Vespasian had begun the war with the Jews while Nero reigned 
(A.D. 66). The Romans had to face a most energetic resistance. 
Among the captives taken by them in Galilee was the Jewish \)S&- 
\.ox\2Xi, Josephus. At the end of A.D. 67, all Galilee was sub- 
dued. The fanatical, or popular, party, the Zealots, got the upper 
hand at Jerusalem. The city was torn with the strife of violent 
factions. In A.D. 70 commenced the memorable siege by Titus, 
the son of Vespasian, the details of which are given by Josephus. 
The fall of the city was attended with the conflagration of the 
temple. Although the estimate given by Josephus of the number 
that perished during the siege, which he places at eleven hundred 
thousand, is exaggerated, it is true that the destruction of life was 
immense. The inhabitants of the city who were not killed were 
sold as slaves. \w Britain a most competent officer — Agricola, 
the father-in-law of Tacitus — was made governor in A.D. 78. He 
conquered the country as far north as the Tyne and the Solway, 
and built a line of forts across the isthmus between England and 
Scotland. 



ROMAN HISTORY. t8i 

Titus (A.D. 79-81). — Vespasian's firm and beneficent reign was 
followed by the accession of Titus, who had been previously asso- 
ciated by his father with himself in the imperial office. Titus was 
mild in temper, but voluptuous in his tastes, and prodigal in ex- 
penditures. One of the marked events of his short reign was the 
destruction of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum by a great 
eruption of Vesuvius (A.D. 79). The uncovering of the streets 
and buildings of Pompeii in recent times has added much to our 
knowledge of ancient arts and customs. A terrible fire and de- 
structive pestilence at Rome were regarded as sent by the gods, 
not on account of the sins of the emperor, but of the nation. 

Domitian (A.D. 81-96). — Domiiian, the younger brother of 
Titus, succeeded him. By nature autocratic, he refused to 
share the government with the senate, as Augustus had planned. 
In order the more completely to control this body he assumed 
the censorship for life. In the latter part of his reign Domi- 
tian, like Tiberius, was gloomy and suspicious, and committed 
many acts of tyranny. He was killed by the freedmen of his own 
palace (A.D. 96). His war with the Dacians on the Danube 
had been concluded by the dubious stipulation to pay them 
an annual tribute as a reward for abstaining from predatory 
incursions into Moesia (A.D. 90). For the first time, Rome 
purchased peace of her enemies. Domitian was guilty of per- 
secuting the Christians, among whom, it is now known, was in- 
cluded at least one member of his own family, his niece, Flavia 
Doviatilla, who was also allied to him by marriage. The epistle 
of Clement of Rome, the oldest extant Christian writing after the 
Apostles, refers to the barbarities inflicted upon Christian disciples 
by this tyrant. 

Nerva (A.D. 96-98). — The Senate now took the initiative, and 
placed on the throne one of their own number, Nerva, an old 
man of mild and virtuous character. The administration was in 
every point in contrast with the preceding. But the best thing 
Nerva did was to provide for the curbing of the praetorians by ap- 
pointing, with the concurrence of the Senate, a most competent 
man to be his colleague and successor. 

Trajan (A.D. 98-117). — Trajan was a native of Spain, and had 
been brought up in the camp. He belongs among the very best 
of the Roman emperors. He upheld the ancient laws and insti- 
tutions of the state. He provided for the impartial administration 
of justice. He restored freedom of speech in the Senate. He 
founded schools, and establishments for the care of orphans, facil- 
itated commerce by building new roads, bridges, and havens, and 
adorned Rome with a public library, and with a new and magnificent 
forum, or market-place, where "Trajan's Column " was placed by 
Senate and people as a monument of his victories and services. 



1 82 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

He relished the society of literary men like the historian Tacitus. 
He was an intimate friend of Pliny (the younger), whose corre- 
spondence while he was governor of Bithynia throws much light 
upon the emperor's character and policy. Trajan's own manner 
of life was simple, and free from luxury. To the people he fur- 
nished lavishly the diversions which they coveted. He made an 
aggressive war against the Dacians on the Danube, and constituted 
a new province of Dacia. He carried his arms into the Parthian 
territory ; and three new provinces — Armenia, Mesopotamia, and 
Assyria — were the fruit of his campaign in the East. In a letter 
to Pliny, he defined the policy to be pursued towards Christians, 
who had become very numerous in the region where Pliiiy gov- 
erned. The effect of the emperor's rescript was to place Chris- 
tianity among the religions under the ban of the law. This decision 
was long in force, and guided the policy of future emperors 
towards the new faith. 

Hadrian (A.D. 117-138). — Trajan was succeeded hy Hadrian, 
a lover of peace, — a cultivated man, with extraordinary taste in the 
fine arts, and their generous patron. He was diligent and full of 
vigor in the transaction of public business. Although genial and 
affable, his tenaper was not so even as that of Trajan ; and he was 
guilty of occasional acts of cruelty. He spent the larger portion 
of his reign in traveling through his dominions, personally attend- 
ing to the wants and condition of his subjects. He constructed 
great works in different portions of the empire : in Rome, his Mau- 
soleum (now the Castle of St. Angelo), and his grand temple of 
Rome and Venus. He began the wall connecting the Scottish friths. 
A fresh revolt broke out among the Jews (A.D. 131), under a 
fanatic named Bar- Cocaba, vihxch. was suppressed in 135, Jeru- 
salem was razed to the ground ; and the Jewish rites were for- 
bidden within the new city of ^lia Capitolina, which the emperor 
founded on its site. This gave a finishing blow to the Jewish and 
Judaizing types of Christianity within the limits of the Church. 

Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-161). — Antoninus Pius was the adopt- 
ed son and successor of Hadrian. He was one of the noblest of 
princes, a man of almost blameless life. His reign was an era 
of peace, the golden age in the imperial history. He fostered 
learning, was generous without being prodigal, was firm yet 
patient and indulgent, and watched over the interests of his sub- 
jects with the care of a father. It is a sign of the happiness of his 
reign that it does not afford startling occurrences to the narrator. 

Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180). — Hardly less eminent for his 
virtues was the next in the succession of sovereigns, Marcus Aure- 
lius ( 1 61-180). "A sage upon the throne," he combined a love 
of learning with the moral vigor and energy of the old Roman 
character, and with the self-government and serenity of the Stoic 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 83 

school, of the tenets of which he was a noble exemplar as well as 
a deeply interesting expounder. A philosopher was now on the 
throne ; and his reign gives some countenance to the doctrine of 
Plato, that the world could be well governed only when philosophers 
should be kings, or kings philosophers. He endured with patience 
the grievous faults of his wife Faustina, and of his brother by adop- 
tion, and co-regent, Lucius Verus. He protected the eastern fron- 
tier against Parthia. In the war with the Marcovianni, he drove 
the German tribes back over the Danube, and gained a signal vic- 
tory over the Quadi in their own land. His great object was to 
strike terror into the barbarian enemies of the empire on the north, 
and prevent future incursions. Although victorious in many of his 
battles, he failed to accomplish this result. The danger from bar- 
barian invasion increased with the lapse of time. Before his work 
was finished, Marcus Aurelius died at Vindobona (Vienna), in 
March, 180. During his reign, there was persecution of Christians. 
Especially the churches of Lyons and Vienne have left a record of 
their sufferings. The virtuous emperors, who were strenuous in 
their exertions to maintain the old laws and customs, were apt to 
be more severe in their treatment of Christians, whom they igno- 
rantly regarded as a mischievous sect, than were those emperors 
who were men of looser principles. 

State of Morals. — The Roman Empire, in the declining days 
of heathenism, presented the spectacle of a flourishing civilization 
in contrast with extreme moral degeneracy. Rich and populous 
cities ; stately palaces ; beautiful works of art — as vases, statues, 
carved altars — on every hand ; bridges and aqueducts, and noble 
highways, binding land to land ; institutions of education in the 
provincial cities as well as in Rome ; a thriving trade and com- 
merce ; a rapid spread of the Roman language, of the Roman 
legal system, and Roman culture and manners over the subject 
countries, ^ — these are among the signs and fruits of civilization. 
But with all this outward prosperity and elegance, there was a 
growing sensuality, a decay of manly feeling, a disregard of the 
sanctity of the marriage tie, an insatiable hunger for wealth and 
for the pleasures of sense. One of the most corrupting features 
in the social condition was slavery. Every Roman of moderate 
means aspired to own at least a few slaves. Some owned from ten 
to twenty thousand, mostly field-hands. Many householders pos- 
sessed as many as five hundred. Horace gives it as a sign of the 
simplicity of his life as a bachelor, that he is waited on at table by 
only three slaves. Slave-holding among the Romans brought in 
temptations to all sorts of brutality and vice. It brought a poison- 
ous atmosphere into every household. Nothing more clearly illus- 
trates the moral degradation of this period than the character of 
the sports in which people of all ranks delighted. The most at- 



1 84 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

tractive theatrical performances came to be comedies, from the 
Greek and Latin plays of the same order, where scenes were in- 
troduced from the licentious stories of the Greek mythology. 
But the Pantojiiiine, which was often of an unchaste and even 
obscene character, gradually usurped the place of every other exhi- 
bition on the stage. The chief amusements of the people of all 
classes were the Circus and the Arena. In the Circus, before 
hundreds of thousands of spectators, nobles of ancient lineage 
competed in the chariot race. Gladiatorial games, which had 
first taken place at funerals, and in honor of deceased friends, 
acquired an almost incredible popularity. At the games instituted 
by Augustus, ten thousand men joined in these bloody combats. 
In the festivals under the auspices of Trajan, in A.D. io6, eleven 
thousand tame and wild animals were slain. Not satisfied with 
seeing pairs of men engage in mortal conflict, the Romans were 
eager to witness bloodshed on a larger scale. The emperors pro- 
vided actual battles between hundreds and, in some cases, thou- 
sands of men, which were beheld by countless spectators. On an 
artificial lake in Csesar's garden, Augustus gave a sea-fight in 
which three thousand soldiers were engaged. The effect of these 
brutal spectacles of agony and death was inevitably to harden the 
heart. 

Literature. — If the sanguinary fights in the arena excited little or no 
condemnation, the prevalence of various other sorts of immorality, at variance 
with the practice of better days, could not fail to call out different forms of 
censure. 

One of these forms of protest was through the satirical poets. Of these 
caustic writers, Persius (34-62) is obscure and of a moderate degree of merit. 
J'MZ'fWi^/ (about 55-135), on the contrary, is spirited and full of force. Martial 
(43-101), a Spaniard by birth, was the author of numerous short poems of 
a pithy and pointed character, called epigraminata. All these poets, if we 
make proper discount for the exaggeration of satire, are very instructive as to 
the manners and morals of their time. Lucian (120-200), who wrote in Greek, 
the best known of whose works are his " Dialogues," touched with his broad 
humor a great many of the superstitions and follies of the day. 

The popular teachers in the imperial time were the rhetoricians, analogous 
to the Greek Sophists, — teachers of rhetoric and eloquence, — one of whom, 
Qinntiliaii (who was born about 40, and died about 118), was the first to re- 
ceive from the public treasury a regular salary, and had among his pupils the 
younger Pliny and the two grand-nephews of Domitian. The influence of 
the mania for rhetoric was more and more to impart an artificial character to 
literature and art. The epic poems of such writers as Lucan and Statins are 
to a large extent imitations ; although Lucan's principal poem, " Pharsalia," 
gives evidence of poetic talent. Where there was so little productive genius, 
it was natural that grammarians and commentators should abound. There 
was one great writer, the historian Tacitus (about 54-117), who towers above 
his contemporaries, and in vigor and conciseness has seldom been equaled. 
The elder Pliny (23-79), whose curiosity to witness the eruption of Vesuvius 
in 79 cost him his life, was a famous observer and author in natural history. 
His nephew, the younger Pliny, the friend of Trajan, has left to us ten books 
of " Epistles," which present an agreeable picture of the life and thoughts of 
a cultivated Roman gentleman. The philosopher Seneca, with the exception 



ROMAN HISTORY. 185 

of Marcus Anrelius, the most eminent expositor of the Roman Stoic school, 
was a voluminous author. No ancient heathen writer has uttered so many- 
thoughts and precepts which bear a resemblance to teachings of the New 
Testament. 

The study that flourished most in this period is yurisprudeiice. It is the 
classic era of the jurists. Persons versed in the law were preferred by 
the emperors for high offices. Men who would have been statesmen under the 
Republic, found a solace and delight in legal studies. Among the most 
learned jurists of this era, were Cains Papinia7i, and Ulpian. Of the Greek 
writers, one of the most important is Plutarch (about 50-120), whase " Lives," 
and "Essays" (or Moralia), are among the most delightful and instructive of 
all the works of antiquity. One of the noblest i^hilosophical writers of that 
or of any other period is the Stoic Epictetiis (50-c. 120). 

The two most popular systems of philosophy in the closing days of the 
Republic and the early period of the Empire, were the Stoic and the Epicu- 
rean. The severity of the Stoic doctrine was somewhat softened by its 
Roman teachers ; but the rigorous self-control, the superiority to misfortune, 
and the contempt of death, which it recommended, found favor with noble 
Romans in dark days. Cato and other champions of the falling Republic 
were disciples of this school. Later, New Platonism, of a mystical and con- 
templative type, secured many adherents. 

Skepticism. — Long before the fall of the Republic, faith in the old 
mythology had begun to decline. This change followed upon an intimate 
contact of the Romans with the Greek religion. It was hastened by the fa- 
miliarity acquired by the Romans with so great a variety of heathen systems. 
The decay of morality was attended with a spread of skepticism as regards the 
supernatural world altogether.. In the course of the debate in the Roman 
Senate on the punishment of the confederates of Catiline, Julius CcEsar op- 
posed their execution, on the ground that death puts an end to conscious- 
ness, and thus to all suffering. It does not appear that in that body, where 
Cicero and Cato were present, any one disputed this tenet. Cicero~\x\ his 
philosophical essays advocates the doctrine of immortality by arguments, 
mostly gathered from Greek sources, — arguments some of which are of 
more and some of less weight. His correspondence, on the contrary, even 
in times of bereavement, affords no proof that this consoling truth had any 
practical hold upon his convictions. 

Superstition. — The spread of skepticism was attended, as time went 
on, with a re-action to the other extreme of superstition. Magic and sorcery 
came into vogue. There was an eagerness to become acquainted with Ori- 
ental religious rites, and to pay homage to deities worshiped in the East 
with mysterious ceremonies. Another tendency strongly manifest was to- 
wards what is called syncretism, or a mingling of different religious systems. 
It was hoped that the truth might be found by combining beliefs drawn from 
many different quarters. This eclectic drift was signally manifest in religion 
as well as in philosophy. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE EMPERORS MADE BY THE SOLDIERS : THE ABSO- 
LUTE MONARCHY, 

Commodus. — Rome had enjoyed good government for eighty- 
four years. This was owing to the fact that her sovereigns had 
been nominated to their office, instead of inheriting it. None of 
the emperors during this interval had male children. Marcus 



l86 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Aurelius made the mistake of associating with him in power his 
son Commodus, who was eighteen years old when his father died, 
and reigned alone from i8o to 192. He began his despicable 
career as sole ruler by buying peace of the Marcomanni and the 
Qimdi. He turned out to be a detestable tyrant, who was like- 
wise guilty of the worst personal vices. He was strangled in his 
bedroom by one of his concubines, Marda, with the assistance of 
others, all of whom he was intending to kill. At this time the 
army, where there had been more energy and virtue than in any 
other class, began to decline in discipline. Society was growing 
more and more corrupt. It proves the inherent strength of the 
organization of the Roman Empire, that, amid all the causes of 
disintegration and decay, it lasted for two centuries longer. 

I. EMPERORS MADE BY THE SOLDIERS. 

We now enter upon a period of military license. The emperors 
are appointed by the soldiers. The rulers, when the soldiers fall 
out with them, are slain. In the course of ninety-two years, from 
192 to 284, twenty-five emperors, with an average reign of less than 
four years for each, sat on the throne. Only two reigns exceeded 
ten years. Ten emperors perished by violence at the hands of the 
soldiers. A real advantage in this way of making emperors, was, 
that supreme power might thus devolve on able generals ; but 
another, and a fatal result, was the demoralizing of the armies, 
by whose favor the rulers of the state were set up and pulled 
down. 

To Alexander Severus (A.D. 222). — The assassins of Commodus, 
with the assent of the praetorians, made a worthy senator, Perthiax, em- 
peror; but his honesty and frugality, and his disposition to maintain discipline 
among the soldiers, caused them to murder him three months after his ac- 
cession (193). It is said that they then sold the imperial office at auction to 
a rich senator, but the leaders of the armies in different regions refused their 
consent. Of these, Septimiiis Severus (193-21 1) made his way to the throne, 
and put down his rivals. The empire iDecame a military despotism. A gar- 
rison of forty thousand troops, the prefect of whom was in power second 
only to the sovereign, took the place of the old praetorians. Severus was a 
good general. In a war against the Parthians, he captured Ctesiphon, their 
capital. Caracalla,\A% ?>ox\ (211-217), was a base tyrant. He was murdered 
by the praetorian prefect, Macrimis, who reigned for a short time {217-218), 
but perished in consequence of his attempts to reform the discipline of the 
army. Heliogabalus (218-222) was not more cruel than others had been, but 
his gross and shameless debauchery was without a precedent. 

Power of the Provinces : Discord. — In the reign of Caracalla 
is placed the Edict which gave the rights of citizenship to all the 
free inhabitants of the Roman Empire. The provinces had been 
steadily rising in power and influence. At Rome, among officials 
of the highest grade, as well as in the higher professions, there was 
a throng of provincials. The provinces were disposed to nominate 



ROMAN HISTORY. 187 

emperors of their own. It was hard for the central authority to 
keep under control the frontier armies. To add to these sources 
of division, there was a growing jealousy between the East and 
West, owing to a difference in language, ideas, and interests. ■ Per- 
sia was soon to threaten the empire on the East, and Gothic bar- 
barians to invade its territories. 

Alexander Severus: Persia. — Alexander Severus (222-235) was a 
man of pure morals, and sincerely disposed to remedy abuses and to govern 
well. But the evils were too great for the moderate degree of vigor with 
which he was endowed. The overthrow of the Parthian kingdom, in 226, 
created, in the New Persian Monarchy, a formidable enemy to Rome. Alex- 
ander did little more than check the advance of Persia. In a war against the 
Germans, he was slain by his own soldiers. 

To Decius (A.D. 249). — The fierce and brutal Maximin, who had 
excited the soldiers of Alexander Severus to mutiny, reigned from 235 to 238. 
The Senate roused itself to resist his advance into Italy ; and he, and his son 
with him, were killed in his tent by his soldiers. Gordian (238-244) at least 
held the frontier against the attacks of the Persians. Philip, an Arabian, 
probably a Roman colonist, after reigning from 244 to 249, was supplanted 
by Decitcs, whom his rebellious Mossian and Pannonian soldiers raised to 
power. 

Decius to Claudius (A.D. 250-268). — The short reign oi Decius 
was marked by the first general persecution of the Christian Church. 
During his reign, the Goths (A.D. 250) invaded the empire. They 
traversed Dacia, and crossed the Danube. They ravaged Mcesia, 
and even made their way into Thrace. Decius was defeated by 
them in Mcesia, and slain. The peril of the empire continually in- 
creased. The German tribes on the north, the Goths on the Lower 
Danube and the Euxine, and Persia in the east, arrayed themselves 
in hostility. 

The reigns of Valerian (253-260) and of his associate and successor, Gal- 
lienus (260-268), were marked by continuous disaster. Numerous indepen- 
dent rulers — " the thirty tyrants " — established themselves, generally for a 
very short time, in different regions. In the East, one kingdom, the capital 
of which was Palmyra, and which had for a ruler Zenobia, the widow of its 
founder, lasted for ten years (264-273). The Goths occupied Dacia, and from 
the Cimmerian Bosphorus sent out their predatory expeditions in all direc- 
tions, plundering cities, including Athens and Corinth, and carrying off im- 
mense booty to their homes south of the Danube. The Persia7is conquered 
Arvienia, took Valerian prisoner, advanced into Syria, and burned Antioch. 

To Diocletian (A.D. 284). — It would seem as if the Roman empire 
was on the verge of dissolution. But a series of vigorous emperors — among 
them Claudius (268-270) and Aurelian (270-275) — quelled rebellion within its 
borders, and re-established its boundaries ; although Anrelian gave up to the 
Goths Dacia, which had been of no benefit to the empire. Probns (276-282) 
was a prudent as well as valiant ruler. Cams (282-283) invaded Persia, 
captured Selencia and Ctesiphon, and might, perhaps, have completed the 
conquest of the country, but for his death. N'ii7neriamis (283-284) was the 
last in the succession of rulers during this period of military control, of which 
the corruption of the army was the worst result. 



1 88 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

n. THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY (tO A.D. 375). 

Diocletian. — Once more the gigantic and weakened frame of 
the Roman Empire was invigorated by a change in the character 
of the chief rulers and in the method of government. Diocletian 
(284-305), one of a number of energetic emperors who were of 
Illyrian birth, first stripped the imperial office of its limitations, 
and converted it into an absolute monarchy. This new system 
was carried to its completion by Co?istantine. Diocletian took 
from the Senate what political jurisdiction was left to it. He abol- 
ished the difference between the treasury of the state and the pri- 
vate coffers of the .prince. The precedence of Rome was taken 
away by making other great cities to be seats of government. 
There were to be two emperors under the title of Augustus, with 
two Ccesars under them ; and thus the empire was divided, for 
administrative purposes, into four parts. Maxi7nian, the second 
Augustus, was to rule over Italy, Africa, and the islands, with Milan 
for his residence. Constantius Chlorus had the western provinces, 
— Spain, Gaul, and Britain. At Nicomedia, Diocletian, a man of 
imposing presence and of great talents as a statesman, exercised 
rule for twenty years with efficiency and success. The new sys- 
tem, if it involved the peril of strife among the regents, led to a 
more vigilant and efficient government in the different provinces, 
and provided for a peaceful succession to the throne. But the 
government came to resemble, in the omnipotence of the emperor, 
in the obsequious homage paid to him, and in the cringing man- 
ners of the court, an Oriental despotism. The old heathen religion 
was considered by conservative Romans to be an essential part 
of the imperial system, and indispensable to the unity of the em- 
pire. It was this view, in connection with other influences, which 
moved Diocletian, near the close of his reign, in 303, to set on 
foot a systematic persecution of the Christian Church, by a series of 
extremely severe and well-contrived measures, through which it was 
designed to extirpate the new religion. The last great persecution, 
in the reign of Decius, cruel though it had been, did not approach 
in severity this final effort to exterminate the disciples of the Chris- 
tian faith, who had now become very numerous. Terrible suffer- 
ings were inflicted, but without avail. In 305 Diocletian, partly on 
account of a serious illness, formally abdicated, and obliged Max- 
imian to do the same. Civil wars followed, until Consta?ititie, the 
son of Cojistantius, gained the supremacy, first as joint ruler with 
Licinius, who governed in the East, and then, after a bloody strug- 
gle which began in A.D. 314, as sole master of the empire (A.D. 

323)- 

Constantine (A.D. 306-337). — The career of Constantine was 
stained by acts of cruelty towards members of his own family. In 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 89 

the closing period of his hfe, he was less just and humane than in 
earher days. The change which had taken place in the imperial 
system was signally manifest in his removal of the seat of govern- 
ment to Constantinople, which was built up by him, and named in 
his honor. Placed between Europe and Asia, on a tongue of land 
where it was protected from assault, it was admirably suited for a 
metropolis. But the change of capital involved dangers for the 
western portions of the empire, exposed as they were to the as- 
saults of the barbarians. The changes in the government begun 
by Diocletian were completed by Constantine. The empire was 
divided, for purposes of government, into four prefectures, each 
of which was subdivided into dioceses. Constantine established, 
likewise, different classes of nobles, the type of modern systems of 
nobility. He organized the army afresh, under the Master of the 
Horse and Master of the Foot, each, however, commanding, in 
action, both infantry and cavalry, and each having under him dukes 
and counts. In short, the system of central and despotic administra- 
tion, with subordinate rulers, which Diocletian began, was perfected 
by Constantine. Diocletian, in order to fortify the imperial power 
against the army, had shared his power with " a cabinet of em- 
perors," which his genius enabled him to control. To prevent the 
breaking up of the empire through the system of viceroys thus 
create'd to preserve it, Constantine separated the civil authority 
from the military as regards the subordinate rulers, while both 
functions were united in himself. He still further exalted his 
throne by giving it even more of an Oriental character, by creating 
a multitude of officials, who were satellites of the sovereign, and 
by becoming the secular head and guardian of the Christian Church, 
The arrangements of his court, with its grades of officials, from the 
chamberlain downwards, were after the Oriental pattern. 

THE DOWNFALL OF HEATHENISM. 

Progress of Christianity. — The failure of the grand attempt 
of Diocletian to exterminate Christianity^was an indication of its 
coming triumph. Its progress had been gradual yet rapid, and, 
in its earlier stages especially, obscure. Of the labors of most of 
the apostles we know little. On the approach of the Jewish war 
(p. 180), the Apostle y;?/?;?, and other Christians with him, had re- 
paired to Asia Minor. There, at Ephesus, this apostle lived until 
the reign of Trajan, and from that center exerted a wide influence, 
the traces of which are marked and various. The cities were the 
principal scenes of early missionary work. They were the " stra- 
tegic points." In them it was easier for Christian preachers to 
gain a hearing, and in them they were exempt from the hindrance 
created by strange dialects. Wherever Christians went, even for 
purposes of trade or mechanical industry, they carried the seeds 



igO ANCIENT HISTORY. 

of the new doctrine. Even with regard to the churches of Alex- 
andria and Carthage, which became so flourishing, and in the 
case of the church at Rome itself, we can not say how they were 
first planted. The exultant terms in which the ecclesiastical writers 
at the end, and even as early as the middle, of the second century 
speak of the increasing number of the converts, proves that the 
Christian cause was fast gaining ground. Its adherents were 
sometimes of the higher class, but mostly from the ranks of the 
poor. 

Persecutions. — Persecution from the side of the heathen began 
among the populace. Always when fire, tempest, or plague oc- 
curred, they were ascribed to the wrath of the heathen gods at the 
desertion of their altars, and the cry was for Christian blood. But 
Christianity, from the time of Trajan, was an illegal religion. 
Magistrates might at any time require Christians to do homage to 
the emperor's bust, or to burn incense to the old divinities. To 
make a proselyte of a Roman citizen, or to meet in private com- 
panies for worship, was unlawful. The persecutions by public au- 
thority have been said to be ten ; but this number is too small if all 
of them are reckoned, and too large if only those of wide extent 
are included. The constancy with which even young women and 
children sometimes endured the torture, excited wonder in the 
beholders. Among the more noted martyrs are Ignatius, bishop 
of Antioch (ii6) ; Polycai-p, bishop of Smyrna, who had been a 
pupil of the Apostle John, and was put to death in 155 ; and Cyp- 
rian, the aged bishop of Carthage, one of the leading ecclesiastics 
of the time, who suffered under Valerian in 258. 

The Church under Constantine. — The accession of Constantine 
made Christianity the predominant religion in the Roman Empire. 
His conversion was gradual. More and more he came to rely 
for support in his conflicts with his rivals upon the God of the 
Christians. The sign of the cross, which he said that he beheld 
in the sky, and which led him to make the cross his standard, 
may have been an optical illusion occasioned partly by his own 
mental state at the moment, when, after prayer, he was standing 
at noon- day in the door of his tent. He remained, like many 
others in that day, not without relics of the old beliefs, as is seen 
from inscriptions on his coins, and other evidences. His own bap- 
tism he deferred until he was near his end, on account of the prev- 
alent idea that all previous guilt is effaced in the baptismal water. 
The edict of unrestricted toleration was issued from Milan in 312. 
Constantine did not proscribe heathenism. He forbade immoral 
rites, and rites connected with magic and sorcery. But, with this 
exception, heathen worshipers were not molested. But the em- 
peror gave his zealous personal countenance to the Christian 
cause, and marks of his favor to its adherents. By the privileges 



ROMAN HISTORY. IQI 

and immunities which he granted to the Church and its minis- 
ters, he did more than he would have been Ukely to effect by the 
use of severity against its adversaries. 

Organization of the Church. — The early Christian societies were 
little republics, at tirst under the supervision of the apostles. Their organi- 
zation shaped itself partly after the model of the synagogue, and partly from 
the pattern of the civil communities and the voluntary associations about 
them. In the apostolic age a body of elde7-s or bishops and a body of deacons 
in each church guided its affairs, while the members took an active part 
in the choice of their officers, and in the general direction of ecclesiastical 
proceedings. In the second century, when we get a distinct view of the 
churches after the obscure interval that follows the age of the apostles, we 
find that over the elders is a bishop, whose office grows in importance as 
the churches become larger, as the need of more compact organization is 
felt, and as the clergy become more and more distinct from the laity. The 
bishop of the city church acquires jurisdiction over the adjacent country 
churches. The bishop in the capital of each province comes to exercise a 
certain superintendence within the province. This is the metropolitan sys- 
tem. More and more the bishops of the great cities, especially Rome, Alex- 
andria, and Antioch, exercise a parallel supervision in larger divisions of the 
empire. This is the patriarchal system. As early as the closing part of 
the second century, the catholic or universal church presents itself before 
us, conceived of as a unity which is made such by the hierarchy of bishops, 
and by connection with the apostolic sees, — the churches founded by the 
apostles in person. As the apostles were thought of as having a head in 
Peter, the bishops of Rome, who were looked on as his successors, had ac- 
corded to them a precedence over other bishops. The grandeur of Rome, 
the strength of the church there, its services to other churches in the em- 
pire, especially in the West, together with many other considerations addi- 
tional to its alleged historic relation to Peter and to Paul, gave to the 
Roman See, as time went on, a growing and acknowledged pre-eminence. 
The custom of holding synods helped to build up the unity of the Church, 
and to give power and dignity to its officials. 

Sects: Theology. — The Church from the beginning had to contend 
with opposing sects. There was a desire to amalgamate the Christian doc- 
trine with other systems. On the Jewish side, the Ebionites clung to the Old 
Testament ritual observances, a part of them being bitterly hostile to the 
Apostle Paul, and another part, the Naza7-eans, not sharing this fanatical feel- 
ing, but still adhering to the Jewish ceremonies. On the other hand, the 
Gnostics introduced a dualism, and ascribed to the Demiurge — a second deity, 
either subordinate to the supreme God, or antagonistic to him — the origination 
of this world and of the Old Testament religion.^ They made a compound of 
Christianity, Judaism, and heathen religion and speculation, each Gnostic sect 
giving to one or the other of these ingredients the preponderance in the strange 
and often fantastic medley. The controversy with heathenism was prose- 
cuted with the pen. Of the numerous defenses of Christianity, now addressed 
to heathen rulers and now to its opponents in private stations, the most re- 
markable work in the first three centuries was the writing of Origeii — who was 
the most eminent of the teachers of theology at Alexandria — in reply to Celszcs. 
Origen, after scholarly labors so vast as to earn for him the title of the Ada- 
mantine, died in 254, in consequence of his sufferings in the Diocletian perse- 
cution. Two defenses of the Christian faith, composed about the middle of 
the second century by Justin APartyr, are specially instructive as to the state 
of Christian opinion and the customs of the Church. The first great center 
of theological activity was Alexandria, where philosophy was studied in a 
liberal spirit. In the East, the questions relative to the divinity of Jesus and 
the relation of the divine to the human nature, engrossed attention. In the 



192 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

West, it was the practical aspects of theology, the doctrine of sin and of the 
deliverance of the will by grace, which were chiefly discussed. The Aria/i 
contro\ersy grew out of the assertion by Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, 
that Jesus was the first-made of all beings, the instrument of the creation of 
all other beings, but himself a creature. The leader of the orthodox oppo- 
sition to this opinion was the famous Alexandrian archdeacon, afterwards 
bishop, Athanasms. This debate it was which led to the assembling, under 
the auspices of Constaiithic, of the Council of A^icaa (A.D. 325), the first of 
a series of General Councils, for the adjudication of doctrinal disputes, that 
were held in this and the following centuries. The Arian doctrine was con- 
demned at Nicsa, and, after a long contest in the period subsequent, was 
finally determined to be heretical. In the West, the main controversy was 
that raised by Pelagius, respecting the power of the will, the native character 
of men, and the agency of God in their conversion. In this debate, Augus- 
tine (354-430), the most eminent theologian of the West, bishop of Hippo in 
North Africa, was the renowned champion of the doctrine of grace against 
w^hat he considered an exaggerated assertion oi free-zuill. Pelagianism was 
condemned in the West, and nominally in the East where views interme- 
diate between the Pelagians and Augustinians commonly prevailed. The 
most eminent scholar contemporary with Augustine was Jerome, who died 
in 420, the author of the Latin version of the Scriptures, called the Vul- 
gate. Preceding Augustine in North Africa, early in the third century, was 
Tertullian, a vigorous and fervid writer, who first made Latin the vehicle of 
theological discussion; and, a little later, Cyprian, whose works relate chiefly 
to church unity and hierarchical government, of which he was a devoted 
champion. Late in the second century, Irenaus, bishop of Lj'ons in Gaul, 
one of the most eminent ecclesiastics of that day, composed an elaborate 
work against the Gnostic heresies. Irenczus had known Polycarp, a disciple 
of John the apostle. 

Christian Life. — Passing within the sphere of Christian hfe, 
there can be no doubt that Christianity^ exerted a powder, of which 
there had been no experience before, in reforming the character and 
conduct of those even who had been addicted to crime and vice. 
The fraternal feeHng of Christians for one another impressed the 
heathen about them as something new and singularly attractive. 
It expressed itself in unstinted charity for those in povert}^, and in 
helpfulness for all sorts of distress. The church was a home for 
the wear}' and friendless. In the strong reaction against the sen- 
suality of a dissolute society, ascetic tendencies appeared, which, in 
process of time, issued in monasticism. Anthony of Thebes, born 
about 250, was one of the earliest and most celebrated of the 
Anchorites, who chose a hermit life, and abjured all the luxuries 
of life and most of the comforts which belong to social existence. 
To the Anchorites succeeded the Coinobites, societies of monks 
who dwelt in a common habitation under fixed rules ; and these 
were naturally followed by co?ifederacies of such communities 
under one organization. The monastic vows were poverty, or the 
renunciation of property ; celibacy, or abstinence from marriage ; 
and obedience to the conventual superior. Sometimes in the early 
centuries great evils and abuses sprang up in connection -ndth mo- 
nastic life. For example, monks might become fanatical and 



ROMAN HISTORY. 193 

violent. But they furnished numerous examples of sincere piety, 
and of unselfish and intrepid self-sacrifice for the welfare of 
others. 

Changes in Worship. — As the Church grew in numbers and wealth, 
costly edifices were constructed for worship. The services within them be- 
came more elaborate. At length art was called in to adorn the Christian 
sanctuaries. Sculpture and painting were enlisted in the work of providing 
aids to devotion. Relics of saints and martyrs were cherished as sacred 
possessions. Religious observances were multiplied; and the Church, under 
the Christian emperors, with its array of clergy and of imposing ceremonies, 
assumed much of the stateliness and visible splendor that hacl belonged to 
the heathen S3-stem which it had supplanted. 

Last days of Heathenism. — When Christianity had become 
powerful, its disciples forgot the precepts of their Master, and 
sometimes persecuted the heathen. Christian mobs demolished 
the old temples. The great temple of Serapis in Alexandria was 
destroyed, and the statue of the god was broken in pieces. The- 
odosius I. (379-395) made the celebration of heathen rites a capi- 
tal offense, and confiscated the property by which heathen worship 
had been supported. Arians, too, he persecuted, but with less 
harshness. The Eastern emperor, Justinian, suppressed the school 
of New Platonic philosophers at Athens, and banished the teachers 
(529)., Heathenism lingered in remote districts, and was hence 
called paganism, or the religion of rustics. The last adherents 
of the ancient religion inhabited in the seventh century remote 
valleys of the Italian islands. The oracles were for ever dumb. 
The old divinities were never more to be invoked. But it was not 
by force that heathenism was extirpated. If it had not lost its 
vitality, it would have survived the penal laws against it. It per- 
ished by the expulsive energy of a better faith. 

Causes of the Triumph of Christianity. — The causes of the spread 

and triumph of Christianity lie ultimately in the need which men feel of reli- 
gion, especially in times of dread and distress, and in the intrinsic excellence 
which was felt to belong to Christianity. In the first and second centuries 
the dreary feeling engendered by the hollow skepticism that prevailed was 
favorable to the Christian cause. There was a void to be filled, and the 
gospel came to fill it. In the third century, when the progress of Christianity 
was specially rapid, there was a perceptible revival of religious feeling among 
the heathen; and this, too, operated to the advantage of the gospel. At 
least it must have done so in numerous instances. In that century the ter- 
rible plagues which desolated the empire, with the sufferings that sprung 
from wild anarchy and misgovernment, made the church a welcome asylum 
for the afflicted. In the first place, Christianity was a religion. It was nei- 
ther a merely speculative nor a merely moral system. It took hold of the 
supernatural. Secondly, it presented to a corrupt society a moral ideal of 
spotless perfection. Thirdly, it offered, in the doctrine of the cross, a wel- 
come solace, — consolation in life, with a sense of reconciliation, and the 
hope of everlasting good. Other causes, such as Gibbon enumerates, were 
operative. But these are themselves mostly effects or aspects of the gospel ; 
or they were auxiliary, not principal, causes. 



194 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Christianity and Liberty. — The founders of Christianity had no 
thought of becoming the authors of a political revolution. They had a very 
different purpose in view. To overthrow the existing order of society would 
have been equally unwise and impracticable. What was needed was a new 
spirit of justice and of love. The virtues that were called for then were the 
passive v'utwQS, — gentleness, forbearance, the calm endurance of ills of which 
there was no present remedy. The Christian spirit, therefore, did not evoke 
in the disciples of the new faith sentiments of liberty akin to those which 
had belonged to Greek and Roman heroes. Indirectly, however, Christianity 
brought into human society the germs of liberty. In ihe first place, while it 
enjoined absolute submission to rulers, it made an exception whenever their 
commands should require disobedience to God's law. This position involved 
the denial to the state of that absolute supremacy accorded to it by the an- 
cients. The allegiance to the state became a qualified allegiance. Secojidly, 
there arose within the state another community, which took into its hands, to 
a large extent, the regulation of social life. The boundaries of the two authori- 
ties might be indistinct, but there was a real division of control between them. 
It is true that tyranny might arise within the Christian organization itself: 
still, its very existence planted on the earth a principle of liberty, which was 
destined ultimately to work out the destruction of all tyranny, whether civil 
or religious. For the first time the rulers of the Roman world were faced by 
an opposition, meek yet too inflexible for all their power to overcome. This 
is the first stage in the history of modern liberty. The " heroic and invincible 
Atkanasius," as Milton styles him, boldly confronted Constantine and his suc- 
cessors, and chose to spend twenty years of his life in voluntary or enforced 
exile rather than bow to their tyrannical decrees. Ambrose^ the great arch- 
bishop of Milan, compelled the Emperor Theodosiiis — who, in a fit of anger 
had ordered a massacre at Thessalonica — to do penance before he could be 
admitted to the communion. Such occurrences indicate that the days of 
imperial omnipotence, even over unarmed subjects, were past. 

Successors of Constantine. — Constantine left his empire to 
his three unworthy sons. Constantine, the eldest, had the West- 
ern provinces for his share. He endeavored to wrest Italy 
from his brother Cons tans, but was slain at Aqt/ikia (340). 
This event left Constans the master of the entire West. He 
took up his abode in Gaul, where he was slain by Magnentius, 
the leader of a mutinous body of soldiers (350). Constantitis 
was at Edessa, engaged in war against the Persians. He marched 
westward, and routed Magnentius at Mtirsia, in Pannonia. This 
rival fled to Gaul, and was there attacked and destroyed. Gallus, 
the cousin of Constantius, was put to death for the murder of one 
of the emperor's officers (354). Julian, the brother of Gallus, 
was the sole remaining survivor of the family from which the 
emperor sprung. Constantius, under whom the whole empire 
was now for a few years (357-361) united, made a triumphal 
visit to Rome. He was the defender of the Arians, but he found 
it impossible to coerce the Roman Christians into the adoption 
of his opinion. The orthodox bishop whom he had banished, 
was restored. Cojistantit/s was succeeded by his cousin Julian 
(361-363), commonly called tlie Apostate. Fascinated by the 
heathen philosophy, and a secret convert to the old religion, he 



ROMAN HISTORY. 



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196 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

proved that its vitality was gone, by his ineffectual exertions to 
rescue it, and restore its predominance. He v^^as not without 
merits as a ruler. He looked out for the impartial administra- 
tion of justice : he revived discipline and a military spirit in the 
army, and sought to infuse a better spirit into the civil adminis- 
tration. While he avoided cruel persecution, he directed all his 
personal efforts to the weakening of the Christian cause. Julian 
led an expedition against the Persians. He sailed down the 
Euphrates to Circesium, and thence proceeded into the interior 
of Persia. He repulsed the enemy, but was slain while engaged 
in the pursuit. The soldiers on the field of battle chose one of 
his oncers, Jovian (363-364), who was a Christian, to be his suc- 
cessor. He conducted the retreat of the army. His reign lasted 
for only seven months. He showed no intolerance either towards 
Pagans or Arians, but he gave back to Christianity its former posi- 
tion. The army next chose Valentinian I. (364-375), the son of 
a Pannonian warrior, who associated with him, as emperor in the 
East, his brother K^Zf/zi- (364-378). Valens xxA^A ixoxw Constan- 
tinople. Valentinian fixed his court at Milan, and sometimes at 
Treves. He was an unlettered soldier, but strict and energetic in 
the government of the state, as well as of the army. His time 
was mostly spent in conflict with the barbarians on the northern 
frontiers. He carried forward this contest with vigor on the 
Rhine and on the Danube. He trained up his son Gratian to 
be his successor. The great event of the reign of Valens was the 
irruption of the Huns into Europe, and the consequent invasion 
of the Goths, by whom Valens was defeated and slain in 378. 
Several emperors followed, until, on the death of Theodosius I., 
(the Great) (395), the Roman Empire was divided. In 476, 
after successive invasions of barbarians had disorganized the west- 
ern part of the Empire, the line of phantom emperors at Rome 
came to an end. The fourth century, in which these invasions — 
which overthrew the Western Empire, and transferred power to 
new races — occurred, forms the era of transition from ancient to 
mediaeval history. 

Literature. —The general works on Ancient History (p. i6). Oti Roman History as 
a whole: Merivale's General History of Rome (from 753 B.C. to A.D. 476: i vol.); 
DuRUY, History of Rome, etc. (8 vols., 4to) ; Wagner, Rom, etc. (3 vols.) ; Allen, A Short 
Story of the Roman People; Freeman, Outlines of History, chaps, iii and iv. ; Smith 
and Lawrence, Smaller History of Rome ; Pelham, Outlines of Roman History. 

On the Roman Repicblic : Mommsen, The History of Rome (4 vols.1; Liddell, A 
History of Rome, etc. (i vol.) ; Ihne, The History of Rome (Eng trans , 3 vols.) -.Miche- 
let. History of the Roman Republic (i vol , i2moU Schwegler, Romische Geschichte (4 
vols ) ; How and Leigh, A History of Rome ; Shuckburgh, A History of Rome. 

On the Rotnan Empire: Merivale, History of the Romans under the Empire (7 
vols V, Seeley, Roman Imperialism [three Lectures] ; Mommsen, The Provi7ices (5th vol- 
ume of his History, 1885); Bury, Students' Roman Eittpire ; Bury, Later Roman Em- 
pire (2 vols.). 

On special periods : Ihne, Early Rome (i vol.1; T. Arnold, History of Rome (3 vols.; 
reaches into the second Punic war) ; Long, The Decline of the Roman Republic '5 vols.) ; 
R. B. Smith, /?i»«<r and Carthage; Merivale, The Roman Triumvirates; T Arnold, 



ROMAN HISTORY. 1 97 

History of the Later Roman Cotninonivealth (2 vols.); Gl'R^oti, History 0/ the Decline 
and Fail of the Roman Empire (Smith's edition) ; Finlay, A History of Greece from the 
Conquest of the Romans to the Present Time (7 vols.); Dill, Romaii Society (5thcentury>. 

TroUope, Life of Cicero (2 vols.) ; Forsyth, Life of Cicero (2 vols.); Middleton's Life 
of Cicero ; Froude, Life of Ccesar (i vol.); Boissier, Ciceron et ses Amis (i vol., i2mo). 

Treatises : Taylor, Const, and Polit. History of Rome ; Kuhn, Verfassung d. Rd- 
mische7i Sfddte ; Guhl and Y^otaV-v., Life of the Greeks and Rotnans ; Marquardt, //awt/- 
biich d. Romisclien Altertliumer (7 vols.); Becker, Galbis (an archaeological novel); 
Ahbott, Roman Political Institutions; Greenidge, Roman Public Life; Preston and 
Dodge, Private Life of tJte Romans; Madvig, Verfassung tind I'erivaltung des Rom 
Staates (2 vols.l; Lanciani [Ancient Rome, and others); Burn, Rome and the Campaicna; 
ZlEGLER, Das alte Rom ; Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography ; Smith 
and Cheatham's Dictionary of Christian Antiqtiities ; Friedlander, Sittengeschichte 
Rons (2 vols.) ; Histories of Roman Literature by Simcox, Cruttwell, Schmitz, Teufifel, Mac- 
Kail, Fowler. 

On Early Christianity: The Lives of Jesus, by Neander, WeiS!;, Farrar, Edersheim, 
Andrews Neander's Planting and Training of the Church. Works on the Life of St. 
Paul, by Conybeare and Hovvson, by Lewins, by Farrar. Fisher's The Begi)inings of 
Christianity; Pressense, Early Days of Christianity. Church Histories of Neander, 
GiESELER, Schaff, Robertson, Ha^.e, Kurtz, Alzog. Uhlhorn, Christian Charity in the 
Ancient ChurcJi ; Ramsay, The Church and the Roman Empire, before lyo A.D. 

Reber, History of Ancient Art; Wickoff, Roman Art; see Dictionaries, p. 122. 



PART II. 
MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Character of the Middle Ages. — The middle ages include 
the long interval between the first general irruption of the Teu- 
tonic nations towards the close of the fourth century, to the 
middle of the fifteenth century, when the modern era, with a dis- 
tinctive character of its own, began. Two striking features are 
observed in the mediaeval era. First, there was a mingling of 
the conquering Germanic nations with the peoples previously 
making. up the Roman Empire, and a consequent effect produced 
upon both. The Teutonic tribes modified essentially the old 
society. On the other hand, there was a re-action of Roman civ- 
ilization upon them. The conquered became the teachers and 
civilizers of the conquerors. Secondly, the Christian Church, 
which outlived the wreck of the empire, and was almost the sole 
remaining bond of social unity, not only educated the new na- 
tions, but regulated and guided them, to a large extent, in secu- 
lar as well as religious affairs. Thus out of chaos, Christendom 
arose, a single homogeneous society of peoples. It was in the 
middle ages that the pontifical authority reached its full stature. 
The Holy See exercised the lofty function of arbiter among con- 
tending nations, and of leadership in great public movements, like 
the Crusades. Civil authority and ecclesiastical authority, empe- 
rors and popes, were engaged in a long conflict for predominance. 
Thus there are three elements which form the essential factors in 
Mediaeval History, — the Barbarian element, the Roinan element, 
with its law and civil polity, and with what was left of ancient arts 
and culture, and the Christian, or Ecclesiastical, element. As we 
approach the close of the mediaeval era, a signal change occurs. 
The nations begin to acquire a more defined individuality ; the 
superintendence of the church in civil affairs is more and more 
renounced or relinquished ; there dawns a new era of invention 
and discovery, of culture and reform. 
198 



Period I. 

FROM THE MIGRATIONS OF THE TEUTONIC TRIBES 
TO THE CARLOVINGIAN LINE OF FRANK RULERS. 

(A.D. 375-751.) 



CHAPTER T. 

CAUSES OP THE FALL OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE: THE 
TEUTONIC CONFEDERACIES. 

Gradual Overthrow of the Empire. — When we speak of the 
destruction of the Roman Empire by the barbarians, we must not 
imagine that it was sudden, as by an earthquake. It was gradual. 
Had the empire not been undermined from within, it would not 
have been overthrown from without. The Roman armies were 
recruited by bringing numerous barbarians into the ranks. At 
length whole tribes were suffered to form permanent settlements 
within the boundaries of the empire. A " king" with his entire 
tribe would engage to do military service in exchange for lands. 
More and more both the wealth and the weakness of Rome were 
exposed to the gaze of the Germanic nations. Their cupidity was 
aroused as their power increased. Meantime the barbarians were 
learning from their employers the art of war, and were gaining sol- 
dierly discipline. Their brave warriors rose to places of com- 
mand. They made and unmade the rulers, and finally became 
rulers themselves. Another important circumstance is, that most 
of the Germanic tribes were converts to Christianity before they 
made their attacks and subverted the throne of the Csesars. In 
fine, there was a long preparation for the great onset of the bar- 
barian peoples in the fifth century. 

Causes of the Fall of the Empire. — But the success of the 
barbarian invasions presupposes an internal decay in the empire. 
It was one symptom of a conscious decline, that the conquering 
spirit was chilled, and the policy was adopted of fixing the limits 
of the Roman dominion at the Rhine and the Danube. Rome 
now stood on the defensive. The great service of the imperial 
government, for which it was most valued, was to protect the 
frontiers. This partly accounts for the consternation of Augustus, 

199 



200 MEDIiEVAL HISTORY. 

when, in the forests of Germany, the legions of Varus were de- 
stroyed (p. 172). The essential fact is, that Rome became unable 
to keep up the strength of its armies. First, there were lacking 
the men to fill up the legions. The civil wars had reduced the 
population in Italy and in other countries. The efforts of Augus- 
tus to encourage marriage by bounties proved of little avail. Sec- 
ondly, the class of independent Italian yeomen, which had made 
up the bone and sinew of the Roman armies, passed away. Slave- 
ry supplanted free labor. Thit'dly, in the third century terrible 
plagues swept over the empire. In 166 a frightful pestilence 
broke out, from which, according to Niebuhr, the ancient world 
never recovered. It was only the first in a series of like appalling 
visitations. Fourthly, the death of liberty carried after it a loss 
of the virtue, the virile energy, by which Rome had won her 
supremacy. Fifthly, the new imperial system, after Diocletian, 
effective as it was for maintaining an orderly administration, 
drained the resources of the people. The municipal government 
in each town was put into the hands of curiales, or the owners of 
a certain number of acres. They were made responsible for the 
taxes, which were levied in a gross amount upon the town. The 
fiscus, or financial administration of the empire, was so managed 
that the civil offices became an intolerable burden to those who 
held them. Yet it was a burden from which there was no escape. 
One result was, that, while slaves were often made coloni, — that is, 
tillers or tenants, sharing with the owner the profits of tillage, — 
and thus had their condition improved, many freeholders sank 
to the same grade, which was a kind of serfdom. When to the 
exhausting taxation by government, there were added the dispo- 
sition of large proprietors to despoil the poorer class of land- 
holders, and from time to time the predatory incursions of 
barbarians, the small supply of Roman legionaries is easily ac- 
counted for. 

Three Races of Barbarians. — While the empire, as regards the 
power of self-defense, was sinking, the barbarians were not only 
profiting by the military skill and experience of the Romans, but 
were forming military unions among their several tribes. In the 
East, there was one civilized kingdom, Persia, the successor of 
the Parthian kingdom, but not powerful enough to be a rival, — 
certainly not in an aggressive contest. But northward and north- 
east of the Roman boundaries, there stretched "a vague and 
unexplored waste of barbarism," " a vast, dimly- known chaos of 
numberless barbarous tongues and savage races." A commotion 
among these numerous tribes, the uncounted multitudes spreading 
far into the plain of Central Asia, had begun as early as the days 
of Julius Caesar. They were made up of three races, — the Tcu- 
tons, or Germanic peoples ; eastward of them, the Slavonians ; 



THE TEUTONIC NATIONS. 20I 

and, farther beyond, the Asiatic Scythians. The Slavonians, an 
Aryan branch, hke the Teutons, had their abodes in the space 
between Germany and the Volga. They were a pastoral and an 
agricultural race, of whose religion little is known. Their incur- 
sions and settlements belong to the sixth and seventh centuries, 
and to the history of the Eastern Empire. 

Teutonic Confederacies. — Of the confederacies of German 
tribes, the Goths are first to be mentioned. In the third century 
they had spread over the immense territory between the Baltic and 
the Black seas. They were divided into the West Goths {Visigoths) 
and East Goths ( Ostrogoths) . Their force was augmented by the 
junction of kindred tribes. To the east of them, towards the Don, 
was a tribe of mixed race, the Alani. In the third century the 
Goths had made their terrible inroads into Mcesia and Thrace, 
and the brave emperor Decius had perished in the combat with 
them. They had pushed their marauding excursions as far as the 
coasts of Greece and Ionia. In the middle of the fourth century 
they were united, with their allied tribes, under the sovereignty of 
the East Gothic chieftain, Hermanric, A second league of Ger- 
manic peoples was the Alemanni, which included the formidable 
tribes called by Caesar the Suevi, and who, after various incursions, 
had established themselves on the Upper Rhine, in what is now 
Baden, Wiirtemberg, and north-east in Switzerland, and in the region 
southward to the summits of the Alps. Their invasion of Italy in 
255, when they poured through the passes of the Rhetian Alps, and 
penetrated as far as Ravenna, was repelled by Aure/ian, afterwards 
emperor. A third confederacy was that of the Franks (or Free- 
men) on the Lower Rhine and the Weser. In North Germany, 
between the Elbe and the Rhine, were the Saxons. The Burgun- 
dians, between the Saxons and the Alemanni, made their way to 
the same river near Worms. East of the Franks and Saxons, were 
the valiant Lombards, who made their way southwards to the 
center of Europe, and finally to the Danube. The Frisians were 
situated on the shore of the North Sea and in the adjacent islands. 
North of the Saxons were the Danes and other peoples of Scan- 
ditiavia, — Teutons all, but a separate branch of the Teutonic 
household. To bold and warlike tribes, now banded together, 
such as were the Franks and the Alemanni, the Rhine, with its line 
of Roman cities and fortresses, could form no permanent barrier. 
When they crossed it, they might be driven back ; but this was 
only to renew their expeditions at the first favorable moment. 
The prey which they saw near by, and of which they dreamed in 
the distance, was too enticing. No more could the Danube 
fence off the thronging nations ; all of whom had heard, and 
some of whom had beheld, the wealth and luxury of the civilized 
lands. 



202 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Beginning at the Euxine, and moving westward along the line of the 
Danube and the Rhine, we find, at the end of the fourth century, that the six 
most prominent names of Teutonic tribes are the Goths, Vandals, Biirgim- 
dians, F^-anks, Saxons, and Lombards. Over the vast plains to the south and 
west of the Caspian are spread the Huns, who belong to one branch of the 
Scythian or Turanian group of nations. 

Habits of the Germans. — We have notices of the Germans from 
Julius CcEsar, the most full description of them in the Gertnajiia of Taci- 
tus. They were tall and robust, and seemed to the Romans, who were of 
smaller stature, as giants. Tacitus speaks of their "fiercely blue eyes." 
They lived in huts made of wood, and containing the cattle as well as the 
family. They tilled the soil, but their favorite employments were war and 
the chase. Capable of cruelty, they were still of a kindly temper, and fond 
of feasts and social gatherings, where they were apt to indulge in excessive 
drinking and in gambling. They were brave, and not without a delicate sense 
of honor. Family ties were sacred. The women were chaste, and were com- 
panions of their husbands, although subject to them. Most of the people 
were freemen, who were land-owners, and carried arms. The nobles were 
those of higher birth, but with no special privileges. The freemen owned 
slaves, who were either criminals or persons who had lost their freedom in gam- 
ing or prisoners of war. There were zXso freedmen or leii, who held land of a 
superior. Many freedmen lived apart, but many were gathered in villages. 
The land about a village was originally held in common. Each village had 
a chief, and each collection of villages, or huitdred, possessed a chief of high 
rank ; and there was a " king," or head of the tribe. All these chieftains 
were elected by the freemen at assemblies periodically held. When the 
duke or general was chosen, he wa-s raised on a shield on the shoulders of 
the men. The judges in the trial of causes sat, with assessors or jurymen 
around them, in the open air. But private injuries were avenged by the 
individual or by his family. One marked characteristic of the Germans was 
the habit of devoting themselves to the service of a military leader. They 
paid to him personal allegiance, and followed him in war. The Germans 
were, above all, distinguished by a strong sense of personal independence. 
If their mode of living resembled outwardly that of other savage races, yet 
in their free political life, and in the noble promise of their language even in 
its rudiments, the comparison does not hold. In their faithfulness, courage, 
and personal purity, they are emphatically contrasted with the generality of 
barbarous peoples. 

Religion of the Germans. — We know more of the Scandinavian reli- 
gion through the Eddas, the Iliad of the Northmen, than of the religion of 
the Germans; but the two religions were closely allied. Among the chief 
gods worshiped by the Germans were Woden, called " Odin " in the North, 
the highest divinity, the god of the air and of the sky, the giver of fruits and 
delighting in battle; Donar (Thor), the god of thunder and of the weather, 
armed with a hammer or thunderbolt ; Thiu (Tyr), a god of war, answering 
to Mars; Fro (Freyr),god of love; and Frauwa (Freya), his sister. Particu- 
lar days were set apart for their worship. Their names appear in the names 
of the days of the week, — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Sun- 
day is the day of the sun, and Monday the day of the moon. Saturday alone is 
a name of Latin origin. Among the minor beings in the German mythology 
were fairies, elves, giants, and dwarfs. There were festivals to the gods. 
Their images were preserved in groves. Lofty trees were held sacred to 
divinities. The oak and the red ash were consecrated to Donar. Sacrifices, 
and among them human sacrifices, were offered to the gods. Their will was 
ascertained by means of the lot, the neighing of wild horses, and the flight of 
birds. Priests were not without influence, but were not a professional class, 
and were never dominant. Valiant warriors at death were admitted into 
Walhalla (the hall of the slain), where they sat at banquet with the gods. 



THE TEUTONIC NATIONS. 



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204 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

CHAPTER H. 

THE TEUTONIC MIGRATIONS AND KINGDOMS. 

The Goths: Theodosius I. — Towards the close of the fourth 
century, when Vakns (364-378) was reigning in the East, the 
Huns moved from their settlements north of the Caspian, defeated 
the Alans, a powerful nation, and, compelling them to enter 
their service, invaded the empire of the Ostrogoths, then ruled 
by Hei'inanric. The Huns belonged to one branch of the Scyth- 
ian race. They had migrated in vast numbers from Central 
Asia. Repulsive in form and visage, with short, thick bodies, and 
small, fierce eyes, living mostly on horseback or in their wagons, 
these terrible warriors, with their slings and bone-pointed arrows, 
struck terror into the nations whom they approached. The Gothic 
Empire fell. The Ostrogoths submitted, and Hermanric died, it 
is thought by his own hand. The Visigoths crowded down to 
the Danube, and implored Valens to give them an asylum upon 
Roman territory. They had previously been converted to Chris- 
tianity, mainly by the labors of Ulphilas, who had framed for them 
an alphabet, and translated nearly the whole Bible into their 
tongue. Fragments of this Maso- Gothic version are the oldest 
written monument in the Teutonic languages. Christianity was 
taught to them by Ulphilas in the Arian type ; and this circum- 
stance was very important, since it was the occasion of the spread 
of Arianism among many other Teutonic peoples. Valens granted 
their request to cross the Danube, and, under Fiitigern and Ala- 
vivus, to settle in Moesia (376). By the connivance of the officers 
of Valens, they were allowed to retain their arms. The avarice of 
corrupt imperial governors provoked them to revolt ; and, in the 
battle of Adrianopk, Valens was defeated. The house into which 
the wounded emperor was carried was set on fire, and he per- 
ished. Gratian, who, since the death of Valentinian I. (375), 
had been the ruler of the West, summoned the valiant Theodosius 
from his estate in Spain, to which he had been banished, to sus- 
tain the tottering empire. Gratian made him regent in the East. 
His father had cleared Britain of the Picts and Scots, and restored 
it to the empire. Under him the son had learned to be a soldier. 
He had been driven into retirement by court intrigues. He now 
accomplished, as well as it could be done, the mighty task laid upon 
him. He checked the progress of the Goths, divided them, incor- 
porated some of them in the army, and dispersed the rest in 
Thrace, Mcesia, and Asia Minor (382). Four years later forty 
thousand Ostrogoths were received into the imperial service. 
Once Rome had conquered the barbarians, and planted its colonies 
among them ; now, after they had proved their power, and gained 



THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. 205 

boldness by victory, it received them within its own borders. The 
indolence and vice of Gratian produced a revolution in the West. 
Maximus was proclaimed imperator by the legions of Britain, and 
Gratian was put to death by his cavalry (383). After sanguinary 
conflicts, Theodosius obtained, also, supreme power in the West. 
He gave to orthodoxy, in the strife with Arianism, the supremacy 
in the East ; and, under his auspices, the General Council of Con- 
stantinople re-affirmed the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity (381). 
In the ancient church he had a glory second only to that of Con- 
stantine. With the exception of his harsh and inquisitorial laws 
for the forcible suppression of Arianism and paganism, his legisla- 
tion was generally wise and beneficent. 

Arcadius : Honorius. — Theodosius left the government of the 
East to his son Arcadius, then eighteen years of age, and that of 
the West to a younger son, Hoiiorius. The empire of the East 
continued ten hundred and fifty-eight years after this division ; 
that of the West, only eighty-one years. The Eastern Empire was 
defended by the barriers of the Danube and the Balkan mountains, 
by the strength of Constantinople, together with the care taken to 
protect it, and by the general tendency of the barbarian invasions 
westward. Rome, in the course of a half-century, was the object 
of four terrible attacks, — that of Alaric and the Visigoths ; of 
Radagaisus with the Suevi, Vandals, and Alans ; of Genseric with 
the Vandals ; of Attila with the Huns. 

Alaric in Italy. — The Visigoths made Alaric — the head of 
their most illustrious family, the Balti — their leader. Honorius 
was controlled by the influence of Stilicho, a brave soldier, by birth 
a Vandal ; Arcadius was ruled by a Goth, Rufinus, a cunning and 
faithless diplomatist. Alaric and his followers were enraged at 
the withholding of the pay which was due to them yearly from 
Arcadius. Rufinus, in order to keep up his sway, and out of hos- 
tility to Stilicho, arranged that they should invade Eastern Illyri- 
cum, a province on which each of the ernperors had claims, and 
which he feared that Stilicho would seize. They ravaged Thrace 
and Macedonia, passed through the undefended strait of Ther- 
mopylae, spared Athens, but devastated the rest of Greece. The 
only protector of the empire now was Stilicho, to whom Theodo- 
sius had committed the care of his two soiis, and whose power 
was exercised in the West. He caused the perfidious Rufitius to 
be put to death by Gainas, one of the Gothic allies of Arcadius. 
The place of the minister was taken by Eutropius, an Armenian 
who had been a slave. Stilicho fought the Goths in two cam- 
paigns, but, perhaps from policy, suffered them to escape by the 
Strait oi Naupactus {Lepanto). To prevent further ravages, Arca- 
dius had no alternative but to appoint Alaric master-general or 
duke of Illyricum. This obliged Stilicho to retire. Raised upon 



206 MEDIALVAJ. HISTORY. 

the shield and thus made king by his followers, Alaric led them 
to the conquest of Italy. Hono7'ius fled for refuge from Milan to 
the impregnable fortress of Ravenna. Stilicho came to his relief, 
and defeated the Visigoths at Pollentia (402). But Honorius 
copied the example of Arcadius, made Alaric a general, and gave 
him the commission to conquer lUyricum for the Western Empire. 
After his defeat, he was moving against Rome with his cavalry, 
when his retreat was purchased by a pension. It was when Hono- 
rius was celebrating his triumph at Rome that a monk named 
Telemachns leaped into the arena to separate the gladiators. He 
was stoned to death by the spectators, but the result of his self- 
devotion was an edict putting a final stop to the gladiatorial shows. 
The emperor now fixed his residence, which had been at Milan, 
at Ravenna, a city that was covered on the land side by a wide and 
impassable morass, over which was an artificial causeway, easily 
destroyed in case it could not be defended. It had served him 
as an asylum during the invasion of Alaric. 

Radagaisus. — The empire was not long left in peace. Alaric 
was a Christian, and partially civilized. Radagaisus was a Goth, 
but a heathen and a barbarian. The Suevi under his command, 
took their course southward from the neighborhood of the Baltic, 
and, drawing after them the Burgundians, Vandals, and Alans, — 
tribes which began to be alarmed by the hordes of Huns that were 
gathering behind them, — advanced to the pillage of the empire. 
Leaving the bulk of their companions on the borders of the Rhine, 
two hundred thousand of them crossed the Alps, and made their 
way as far as Florence. Stilicho once more saved Rome and the 
empire by forcing them back into the Apennines, where most of 
them perished from famine. Radagaisus surrendered, and was 
beheaded. The news of this disaster moved the host which had 
been left behind, joined by the remainder of the army of Rada- 
gaisus, to make an attack upon Gaul. Despite the resistance of 
the Ripuarian Franks, to whom Rome had committed the defense 
of the Rhine, they crossed that river on the last day of the year 
406. For two years Gaul was a prey to their ravages, until the 
Suevi, the Alans, and the Vandals, sought for fresh booty on the 
south of the Pyrenees (409). In Gaul they "destroyed the cities, 
ravaged the fields, an(i drove before them in a promiscuous crowd, 
the bishop, the senator, and the virgin, laden with the spoils of 
their houses and altars." Brief as was this period of devastation, 
it marks the severance of Gaiil from the empire. 

Alaric again in Italy. — Stilicho had kept up friendly relations 
with Alaric, and had retained in Italy thirty thousand barbarians 
in the pay of the empire. The brave general became an object of 
suspicion to Honorius, who caused him to be assassinated, and 
the wives and children of the barbarian troops to be massacred. 



THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. 20/ 

The men fled to Alaric. He came back with them to avenge 
them. He appeared under, the walls of Rome. " It was more 
than six hundred years since a foreign enemy had been there, and 
Hannibal had advanced so far, only to retreat." When the en- 
voys of the Senate represented to Alaric how numerous was the 
population, he answered, "The thicker the hay, the easier it is 
mowed." But he consented to accept an enormous ransom, and 
retired to winter quarters in Tuscany. The court at Ravenna re- 
fused to assign lands to the Visigoths for a permanent settlement 
in Northern Italy. Alaric demanded the post of master-general 
of the Western armies. Once more he advanced to Rome, seized 
the "Port" of Ostia, and compelled the Senate to appoint Attains, 
the prefect of the city, emperor. He besieged Ravenna without 
effect, quarreled with Attains, and deposed him, and for the third 
time marched upon Rome. Slaves within the city opened the Sala- 
rian gate to their countrymen, and on the 24th of August, 410, the 
sack of the city began. To add to the horrors of the scene, a terrific 
thunder-storm was raging. For three days Rome was given up 
to pillage. Only the Christian temples were respected, which were 
crowded by those who sought within them an asylum. Rome had 
been the center of Paganism. The scattering and destruction of 
its patrician families was the ruin of the old religion. Alaric did 
not long survive his victory. He died at Consentia in Bruttiicm. 
He was buried under the little river Basentiiis, which was turned 
out of its course while the sepulcher was constructing, and then 
restored to its former channel. The slaves employed in the work 
were put to death, that the place of his burial might remain a 
secret (410). 

Athaulf: Wallia. — Athaulf (called Adolphus), the brother 
and successor of Alaric, was an admirer of the empire. He en- 
listed in the service of Honorius, and married his sister, Placidia, 
who was in the hands of the Goths, either as a captive or as a 
hostage. He put down usurpers in the south of Gaul who had 
set themselves up as emperors, and entered Spain, in order to 
drive out the barbarians from that country. But he was assassi- 
nated (415). His successor, Wallia, carried forward his plans, 
in the name of Honorius, against the Alans, the Suevi, and the 
Vandals. He partly exterminated the Alans, chased the Suevi 
into the mountains on the north-west, and the Vandals into the 
district called after them, Andalusia. 

Three Barbarian Kingdoms. — The kingdom of the Suevi thus 
established (419), under the kings reigning from 438 to 455 con- 
quered Lusitania, and would have subdued all Spain had they 
not been checked by the Visigoths. As a reward for their ser- 
vices, the latter received from Honorius, Aquitaine in Gaul, as 
far as the Loire and the Rhone, with Toulouse for their capital. 



208 MEDI/EVAL HISTORY. 

They conquered the Suevi in 456, and in 585 subjugated them; 
in 507 the Franks had driven them out of Gaul. Early in the fifth 
century the Burgitndian kingdom grew up in South-eastern Gaul. 
At the end of that century the Rhone was a Burgundian river. 
Lyons and Vienne were Burgundian cities. Thus in the first 
twenty years of the fifth century there arose three barbarian king- 
doms. Of these, that of the Suevi, soon vanished (585), being 
absorbed by the Visigoths ; that of the Burgundians continued 
until 534 ; while that of the Visigoths in Spain lasted until the 
conquest by the Arabs in 7 1 1 . "^ 

Conquest of Africa by the Vandals. — Ho7iorius died in 423. 
He had shown himself a zealous defender of the Church against 
heresy, and was the author of edicts for the suppression of hea- 
thenism, and for the destruction of heathen temples and idols. 
But he had proved himself inefficient in the defense of the em- 
pire. His nephew Valentinian III., the son of Placidia and of 
the general Constantius, whom she had married in 417, succeeded 
him ; but he was only six years old, and for twenty-five years the 
government was carried on in his name by his unworthy mother. 
She had two able generals, Aetius and Boniface, whose discord 
was fatal in its effects. At the same time in the East, the govern- 
ment was managed by Pulcheria for her brother, Theodosius II., 
who had succeeded Arcadius in 408. Aetius, who was a Hun, 
by insidious arts persuaded Placidia to recall Boniface, who was 
governor of Africa, at the same time that he advised Boniface to 
disobey the order which he represented as a sentence of death. 
Boniface sent to Gonderic, king of the Vandals in Spain, — who, 
after the retreat of the Visigoths, were strong in that country, — an 
offer of an alliance. Genseric, the Vandal leader, the brother and 
successor of Gonderic, landed in Africa in 429 with fifty thousand 
men. Too late the treachery of Aetius was explained to Boniface. 
Genseric, with his allies, tribes of nomad Moors, defeated him in 
a bloody battle, and besieged Hippo for fourteen months. Augus- 
tine, the bishop of Hippo, animated the courage of its defenders 
until his death in 430, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Boni- 
face was again defeated, and Hippo was taken. The Vandals 
pushed on their conquest, but eight years passed before Carthage 
was reduced (439). Valentinian had recognized by treaty the 
kingdom of the Vandals. Genseric was characterized by genius 
and energy as well as by cruelty and avarice. He built up a 
navy, and made himself master of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and the 
Balearic Isles. He was able to defy Constantinople, on accoimt 
of his control of the Mediterranean. At the same time he entered 
into relations with the barbarians in the north, in order that Aetius, 
who endeavored to bring in some degree of order and obedience 
in the empire, might be checked and restrained on all sides. The 



THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. 209 

Vandals were Arians, and made full use of the difference in faith 
as a motive for plundering and maltreating the orthodox Christians 
in Africa, whom their arms had subdued. 

Attila: Chalons. — The enemy whom Genseric invoked to make 
a diversion in his favor against the combined rulers of the East and 
of the West, was Attila. For a half-century the Huns had halted, 
in their migration, in the center of Europe, and held under their 
sway the Ostrogoths, the Gepids, the Marcomanni, and other tribes. 
The empire of Attila extended from the Baltic to the north of the 
Danube, and as far east as the Volga. His name inspired terror 
wherever it was heard. He was styled " the scourge of God." 
The "sword of Mars" — the point of an ancient sword which, it 
was said, was discovered by supernatural means, and was presented 
to him — was deemed the symbol of his right to the dominion of the 
world. Yet, notwithstanding his fierce visage and haughty mien, 
he was an indulgent ruler of his own people, and not without pity 
and other generous traits. Such was the dread of him that it was 
said that no blade of grass grew on the path which his armies had 
traversed. First, he attacked Theodosius II. in the East, to force 
him to recall the troops which he had sent against Genseric. 
He crossed the Danube, destroyed seventy cities, and forced the 
Eastern emperor not only to pay a tribute heavier than he had 
paid before, but also to cede to the Huns the right bank of the 
river. Theodosius failed in a treacherous attempt to assassinate 
him through Attila's ambassador, Edecon, whom he had bribed. 
Attila discovered the plot, but pardoned with disdain the ambas- 
sadors of the emperor who went to him in his wooden palace in Pan- 
nonia. He contented himself with reproaching Theodosius with 
" conspiring, like a perfidious slave, against the life of his master." 
Regarding Constantinople as impregnable, he turned to the West. 
He demanded of the Western emperor the half of his states ; and, 
moving to the Rhine with six hundred thousand barbarians, he 
crossed that river and the Moselle, advanced on his devastating 
path into the heart of Gai/l, crossed the Seine, and laid siege to 
Orleans. Everywhere the inhabitants fled before him. The cour- 
age of the people in Orleans was sustained by their bishop, who at 
length, as the city was just falling into the hands of the assailants, 
saw a cloud of dust, and cried, " It is the help of God." It was 
Aetius, who, on the death of Boniface, had thought it prudent to 
fly to the Huns, had come back to Italy at the head of sixty thou- 
sand men, obtained forgiveness of Placidia, and been made master- 
general of her forces. He had united to the Roman troops the 
barbarians who had occupied Gaul, the Visigoths under Theodoric, 
the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Ripuarian and the Salian Franks. 
On the Catalaunian fields, a vast plain near Chalons, whither 
Attila now retreated to find room for the effective use of his 



2IO MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

cavalry, the two multitudinous armies, each composed of a motley 
collection of nations, met. It was, like the conflict at Marathon, 
one of the decisive battles of history. It was to determine whether 
the Aryan or the Scythian was to be supreme in Europe. The 
battle-field was strewn, it was said, with the bodies of a hundred 
and sixty thousand men, — an exaggeration indicating that the 
carnage was too great to be estimated. Attila was worsted. He 
encircled his camp with a rampart of wagons ; and in the morning 
the victors saw him standing on the top of a mound composed of 
the trappings of horsemen, which was to serve as his funeral-pile, 
with torch- bearers at hand ready to light it in case of defeat. 
Aetius was weakened by the withdrawal of the Visigoths : the 
allies did not venture to attack the lion standing thus at bay, but 
suffered him to return to Germany (451). 

Attila in Italy — The next year Attila invaded Upper Italy. 
He destroyed Aquileia, the inhabitants of which fled to the lagoons 
of the Adriatic, where their descendants founded Ve7iice. Padua, 
Verona, and other cities were reduced to ashes. At Milan he saw 
a painting which represented the emperor on his throne, and the 
chiefs of the Huns prostrate before him. He ordered a picture 
to be painted in which the king of the Huns sat on the throne, 
and the emperor was at his feet. The Italians were without the 
means of defense. Leo I. (Leo the Great), bishop of Rome, 
at the risk ot his life accompanied the emperor's ambassadors to 
Attila's camp. Their persuasions, with rich gifts and the promise 
of a tribute, availed. The army of Attila was weakened by sickness, 
and Aetius was approaching. The king of the Huns decided to 
retire to his forests. The apparition of the two apostles, Peter 
and Paul, threatening the barbarian with instant death if he did 
not comply with the prayer of their successor, is the subject of 
one of the paintings of Raphael. Some months after he left Italy 
Attila died at the royal village near the Danube, probably from the 
bursting of an artery during the night (453). Tlie nations which 
he had subjugated regained their freedom. The chiefs of the 
Huns contended for the crown in conflicts which dissipated their 
strength. The expeditions of Attila were like a violent tempest, — 
destructive for the moment, the traces of which soon disappear. 

About the name of Attila, there gathered cycles of traditions, Gallo-Roman 
or Italian, East German or Gothic, West German and Scandinavian, and Hun- 
garian. Such traditions in Germany formed, later, the germ of the national 
epic, the Nibel7uigen-lied. They testify to the powerful impression which the 
hero of the Huns made on the memory and imagination of the different 
nations. 

Genseric. — Attila did not see Rome ; but Genseric, his ally, 
visited it with fire and sword (455). The emperor was Petronius 
Maximus, a senator, who had slain Valentinian III. as the penalty 



THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. 211 

for a mortal offense. The weakness of Maximus as a ruler caused 
him to be destroyed by the populace. Etidoxia, the widow of 
Valentinian, whom Maximus had compelled to marry the author 
of her husband's death, had secretly implored the aid of the king 
of the Vandals. Once more Leo showed his fearless spirit by going 
into the camp of the Vandal king, and interceding for Rome. He 
only succeeded, however, in mitigating to a limited extent the hor- 
rors that attended the pillage of the city by the fierce and greedy 
soldiers, the Vandals and Moors, who followed Genseric. For 
fourteen days (June 15-29, 455) Rome was given up to carnage 
and robbery. The conqueror carried off every thing of value that 
was capable of being transported. Eudoxia was rudely stripped 
of her jewels, and with her two daughters, descendants of the great 
Theodosius, was conveyed away with the conqueror to Carthage. 
For twenty years longer Genseric ruled over the Mediterranean 
in spite of the hostility of both empires. An expedition sent 
against him at the instigation of Ricimer, the Sueve, by the East- 
ern emperor Leo, was ill commanded by Basiliscus, and failed. 
But after the Vandal king died (477), his kingdom was torn by 
civil and religious disorders, and by the revolts of the Moors, 
and, fifty-seven years after the death of its founder, was conquered 
by the general of the Eastern Empire. 

Fall of Rome: Odoacer. — After the death oi Maximus, Avitus 
was appointed emperor by the king of the Visigoths in Gaul. 
The barbarians hesitated to assume the purple themselves, but they 
determined on whom it should be bestowed. Of the emperors that 
%MZQ.t&^t^, Majorian (457-461) — who was raised to the throne 
by Ricimei^, military leader of the German mercenaries in the 
Roman army — presents an instance of a worthy character in a 
corrupt time. At last another leader of mercenaries ( Orestes, a 
Pannonian) made his son emperor, — a boy six years old, called 
Romulus Augustulus (475). Odoacer, who commanded the He- 
ruh, Rugii, and other federated tribes, — ^^mercenaries to whom 
Orestes refused to grant a third part of the lands of Italy, — made 
himself ruler of that country. The Senate of Rome, in pursuance 
of his wishes, in an address to the Eastern emperor Zeno, declared 
that an emperor in the West was no longer necessary, and asked 
him to make Odoacer patrician, and prefect of the diocese of Italy. 
It was in this character — not as king, but in nominal subordination 
to Zeno, the head of the united Roman Empire — that Odoacer 
governed (476). For more than a half-century people had been 
accustomed to see the barbarians exercise supreme control, so 
that the extinguishment of the Western Empire was an event less 
marked in their eyes than it seemed to the view of subsequent ages. 

Ostrogotliic Kingdom of Theodoric. — When Odoacer had 
reigned twelve years, Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths in Aloesia, 



212 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

— who in his youth had lived at the court of Constantinople, had 
defended the Eastern emperor, but had been provoked to hostility 
to him, — was authorized by Zeno to move upon Italy. A host 
consisting of two hundred thousand fighting-men, together with 
their families and goods, followed the Gothic leader. Defeated at 
Verona (489), Odoacer was forced to make a treaty for a division 
of power, and to surrender Ravenna, where he had taken refuge ; 
but very soon, in the tumult of a banquet, he was slain by Theod- 
oric's own hand, either from fear of a rival, or because he sus- 
pected that Odoacer was plotting against him. From this time the 
long reign of Theodoric was one of justice and of peace. More 
by negotiation than by war, he extended his dominion so that it 
embraced lUyricum, Pannonia, Noricum, and Rhoetia, and, in the 
West, South-eastern Gaul (Provence). The Bavarians paid him 
tribute ; the Alemanni invoked his assistance against the Franks, 
against whom he afforded succor to the Goths of Aquitaine. In 
his administration he showed reverence for the old imperial sys- 
tem, and for its laws and institutions. He fostered agriculture, 
manufactures, and trade. Although he could not write, he en- 
couraged learning ; and a learned Roman, Cassiodorus, he ap- 
pointed to high offices. He permitted the Goths alone to bear 
arms. He caused to be compiled from the Roman law a collection 
of statutes for the Goths and for his new subjects, and established 
mixed tribunals for causes in which both were parties. Cassiodo- 
rus ascribes to Theodoric the words, " Let other kings seek to 
procure booty, or the downfall of conquered cities : our purpose 
is, with God's help, so to conquer that our subjects shall lament 
that they have too late come under our rule." He did what he 
could to promote peace among other barbarian nations. The 
prosperity of Italy, and the increase of its population, were a proof 
of the good government which it enjoyed. An Arian, he respected 
the Catholics, confirmed the immunities enjoyed by the churches, 
and generally allowed the Romans to elect their own bishop. He 
also protected the Jews. The persecution of the Arians in the 
East (524) hy Justin /., awakened in his mind the belief that a 
conspiracy was forming against him. He accused Boethiics of 
being a partner in it, and adjudged him to death (524). While 
in prison at Pavia, this cultivated man, whom Theodoric had highly 
esteemed, composed a work on the " Consolations of Philosophy," 
which has made his name immortal in literature. The course of 
Theodoric at this time drew upon him the severe displeasure 
of his orthodox subjects. Soon after his death (526) his ashes 
were taken out of the tomb, and scattered to the winds. Hence 
nothing remains of his sepulcher at Ravenna but his empty mau- 
soleum. 

Before the close of the century, as we shall see, another German 




THE NEW NATIONS 

AFTER THE 

GREAT MIGRATIONS 

ABOUT A. D. 500. 



vS* 



THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. 213 

tribe, the Lombards, founded a powerful state in Italy, which con- 
tinued for more than two hundred years (568-774). 

The Franks: Clovis. — When Clovis {481-5 11), a warlike and 
ambitious chief of the Merovingian family of princes, became 
king of the Franks, they numbered but a few thousand warriors. 
The remnant of the Roman dominion on the Seine and the Loire 
he annexed, after having put to death Syagrius, the Roman gov- 
ernor, who was delivered up to him by the Visigoths. He made 
Soissons, and then Paris, the seat of his authority. A Salian Frank 
himself, he joined to himself the Ripuarian Franks on the Lower 
Rhine, and made war on the Alemanni, who were planted on both 
sides of the river. Before a battle (formerly thought to have been 
at Tolbiac), he vowed, that, if the victory were given him, he would 
worship the God of the Christians, of whom his wife Clotilde was 
one. Clotilde was the niece of the Burgundian king, who was an 
Arian ; but she was orthodox. The victory was won. Clovis, with 
three thousand of his nobles, was baptized by Remigius {St. Remi), 
Archbishop of Rheims. Hearing a sermon on the crucifixion, 
Clovis exclaimed, that, if he and his faithful Franks had been 
there, vengeance would have been taken on the Jews. He was a 
barbarian still, and the new faith imposed little restraint on his 
ambition and cruelty. But his conversion was an event of the 
highest importance. The Gallic church and clergy lent him their 
devoted support. The Franks were destined to become the domi- 
nant barbarian people. It was now settled that power was to be 
in the hands of Catholic — as distinguished from heretical Arian — 
Christianity. Clovis forced Gtcndobald, the Burgundian king, to 
become tributary, and to embrace the Catholic faith. He extended 
his kingdom to the Rhone on the east, and on the south (507-5 11), 
confined the Visigoths in Gaul to the strip of territory called Septi- 
ma7iia, which they held for three centuries longer. Britta?iy alone 
remained independent under its king. Clovis was hailed as the 
" most Christian king " and the second Constantine, and was made 
patrician and consul by the Eastern emperor Anastasiiis, in which 
titles, with their insignia, he rejoiced. In the closing part of his 
life he took care to destroy other Frank chieftains who might 
possibly undertake to dispute or divide with him his sovereignty. 

Distribution of Tribes. — If we look at the map at the close of the 
fifth centur}-, we find that all the western dominions of Rome are subject to 
Teutonic kings. The Franks, still retaining Western and Central Germany, 
rule in Northern Gaul, and are soon to extend their sway to the Pyrenees, 
and to conquer Burgundy. The West Goths are the masters in Spain, and 
still hold Aquitaine, the most of which, however, is soon to be lost to the 
Franks. Italy and the lands north of the Alps and the Adriatic form the 
East Gothic kingdom of Theodoric. Africa is governed by the Arian Vandals. 
To the north of the Franks, the tribes of Germany, which were never subject 
to Rome, have already begun their conquests in Britain. With the exception 
of Britain, which is falling under the power of the Saxons, and Africa, these 



214 MEDI^.VAL HISTORY 

countries are still nominally parts of the Roman Empire, of which Constanti- 
nople is the capital. In the east, the boundaries of the empire, notwithstand- 
ing the aggressions and insults which it has suffered, are but little altered. 

The Merovingians. — The dominion of Clovis was partitioned 
among liis four sons (511). Theodoric, the eldest, in Rheims, 
ruled the Eastern Franks, in what soon after this time began to be 
called Ausfrasia, on both banks of the Rhine. Neus/ria, or the 
rest of the kingdom north of the Loire, was governed in parts 
by the other three. Theodoric gained by conquest the land of 
the Thuringians, whose king, Hermanfrid, he treacherously de- 
stroyed. A part of this land was given to the Saxons. The his- 
tory of the Franks for half a century lacks unity. The several 
rulers rarely acted in concert. They made expeditions against 
the Burgundians, the Visigoths, and the Ostrogoths. Twice they 
attacked the Burgundians. The last time, in 534, they con- 
quered them, deprived them of their national kings, and forced 
them to become Catholic. In 531 they made war on the Visi- 
goths to avenge the wrongs inflicted on Clotilde, a. princess of 
their family who suffered indignities at the hands of the Arian 
king Amalaric. They crossed the Pyrenees, and brought away 
Clotilde. A second division of the kingdom was made in 561 
among the grandsons of Clovis, and consummated in 567. Aus- 
trasia, having Rheims for its capital, had a population chiefly 
German. Neustria, where the Gallo-Roman manners were adopt- 
ed, had Soissons for its capital ; and Burgundy had its capital at 
Orleans. The population in both these last dominions was more 
predominantly Romano-Celtic, or " Romance." Family contests, 
and wars full of horrors, — in which the tragic feud of two women, 
Brunhilde of Austrasia, a daughter of Athanagild, king of the 
Visigoths, and Fredegunde of Neustria, played a promiiient part, — 
ensued. In 613 Clotaire II. of Neustria united the entire king- 
dom. Brunhilde was captured, and put to death in a barbarous 
manner. The son of Clotaire, Dagobert, was a worthless king. 
The Frank sovereigns of the royal line are inefficient, and the vir- 
tual sovereignty is in the hands of the " Mayors of the Palace," 
the officers whose function it was to superintend the royal house- 
hold, and who afterwards were leaders of the feudal retainers. 
The family of the Pipins, who were of pure German extraction, 
acquired the hereditary right to this office, first in Austrasia and 
later in Neustria. The descendants oi Pipin of Heristal, as dukes 
of the Franks, had regal power, while the title of king was left 
to the Merovingian princes. The race of Pipin was afterwards 
called Carolingians, or Karlings. The preponderance of power 
at first had been with Neustria, but it shifted to the ruder and 
more energetic Austrasians. The battle of Testry, in which Pipin. 
of Heristal at their liead overcame the Neustrians, determined 



THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. 215 

the supremacy of Germany over France (687). His son and suc- 
cessor, C/iarks Marfei {']\'^-']^\), made himself sole "Duke of the 
Franks ; " and Pipin the Short (741-768), the son of Charles Mar- 
tel, became king, supplanting the Merovingian line (752). 

Saxon Conquest of England. — In the fourth century, when the 
power of Rome was declining, the Picts and Scots from the North 
began to make incursions into the Roman province of Britain. At 
the same time Teutonic tribes from the mouths of the Weser 
and the Elbe, began to land as marauders upon the coast. Honorius 
withdrew the Roman troops from the island in 411 ; and it was 
conquered by these invading tribes, especially the Angles, Saxons, 
and Jutes. They became one people, called Anglo-Saxons, Angles 
or English. They were fierce barbarians, who drove the Celts 
whom they did not kill or enslave — and whom they called Welsh, 
or strangers — into Wales and Cornwall. They formed kingdoms, 
the first of which, Kent, was the result of the coming of Hengist 
and Horsa, whom Vortigern, the native prince, had invited to 
help him against the Picts (449). There were seven of these 
Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy), not all of which were at any 
one time regular communities. They were almost constantly at 
war with one another and with the natives. They had a king 
elected from the royal family. Freemen were either Earls or 
Churls, \h^ "gentle" or the "simple." The churl was attached 
to some one lord whom he followed in war. The thanes were 
those who devoted themselves to the service of the king or 
some other great man. The thanes of the king became gentle- 
men and nobles. There were thralls, or slaves, either prisoners in 
war, or made slaves for debt or for crime. Connected with the 
king was a sort of Parliament, called the Witenagemot, or Meet- 
ing of the Wise, composed originally of all freemen, and then of 
the great men, the Ealdor7nen, the king's thanes. After the 
Saxons were converted, the bishops and abbots belonged to it. 
In minor affairs, the " mark," or township, governed itself. 

Conversion of the Saxons. — The seven kingdoms, in the ninth 
century (828), were united under Egbert, who became king of 
Wessex in 802. He was called the king of England. Towards the 
Celtic Christians the heathen Saxons were hostile. The conver- 
sion of the Saxons was due to the labors of Augustine and forty 
monks, whom Gregory the Great (Gregory I.) sent to the island as 
missionaries in 597. Their first conversions were in Kent, whose 
king, Ethelbert, had married Bertha, the daughter of a Frankish 
king. Augustine, who had great success, became the first arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, and he consecrated a bishop of London. 
During the seventh century the other Saxon kingdoms were grad- 
ually converted. York became a seat of a second archbishopric. 
While Britain had been cut off from close relations with the con- 



2l6 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

tinent, the Celtic Church there had failed to keep pace with the 
changes of rite and polity which had taken j^lace among Christians 
beyond the channel. The consequence was a strife on these points 
between the converted Saxons, who were devoted to the holy see, 
and the " Culdees " or Old British Christians. 

Conversion of the Irish. — About the middle of the fifth cen- 
tury the gospel had been planted in Ireland, mainly by the labors 
of Patrick, who had been carried to that country from Scotland 
by pirates when he was a boy, and had returned to it as a mis- 
sionary. The cloisters, and the schools connected with them, 
which he founded, flourished, became nurseries of study as well 
as of piety, and sent out missionaries to other countries of West- 
ern Europe. 

Character of the Teutonic Kingdoms. — The Teutonic tribe was 
made up of freemen and of their dependents. The rights of freemen, such 
as the right to vote, continued ; but these were modified as differences of 
rank and wealth arose. Their leaders in peace and war were the duke 
{dux), the count {comes, or graf), and the herzog (duke of higher grade) 
over larger provinces. The companions of the king and the local chiefs 
grew into a nobility. Once or twice in the year there was a gathering of the 
freemen in assemblies, to decree war or to sanction laws. Land was partly 
held in common, partly by individuals either as tenants of the community, 
or as individual owners. The soil was shared in proportions by the con- 
querors and the conquered. 

The Church. — The Germanic tribes were generally more or less ac- 
quainted with the Romans, and were Christians by profession. They were 
subject to the influences of religion, of law, and of language, in the countries 
where they settled. Power passed from the Empire to the Church. The 
Church was strong in its moral force. Its bishops commanded the respect 
of the barbarians. They were moral and social leaders. In the period of 
darkness and of tempest, the voices of the Christian clergy were heard in 
accents of fearless rebuke and of tender consolation. In the cities of Italy 
and Gaul, the bishops, at the call of the people, informally took the first 
place in civil affairs. Remarkable men arose in the Church, who were con- 
spicuous as ambassadors and peace-makers, as intercessors for the suffering, 
and courageous protectors of the injured. Such a man was Leo the Great. 
The barbarians were awed by the kingdom of righteousness, which, without 
exerting force, opposed to force and passion an undaunted front. There 
was often a conflict between their love of power and passionate impatience 
of control, and their reverence for the priest and for the gospel. They could 
not avoid feeling in some measure the softening and restraining influence of 
Christian teaching, and learning the lessons of the cross. Socially, the 
Church, as such, "was always on the side of peace, on the side of industry, 
on the side of purity, on the side of liberty for the slave, and protection for 
the oppressed. The monasteries were the only keepers of literary tradition: 
they were, still more, great agricultural colonies, clearing the wastes, and 
setting the example of improvement. They were the only seats of human 
labor which could hope to be spared in those lands of perpetual war." 
Nevertheless, the religious condition of the West, the condition of the 
Church and of the clergy, could not fail to be powerfully affected for the 
worse by the influx of barbarism, and the corrupting influence of the barba- 
rian rulers. A great deterioration in the Church and in its ministry ensued 
after the first generation following the Germanic conquests passed away. 
This demoralization was more among the secular clergy than the monastic. 



THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 21/ 

The " History of the Franks," by Gregory of Tours (540-594), is an instructive memorial 
of the times. He was himself an intrepid prelate, who did not quail before Chilperic I. and 
Fredegunde, but braved their wrath. Chilperic proposed to establish by his authority a new 
view of the Trinity of his own devising, but was resisted by Gregory, who told him that no one 
but a lunatic would embrace such an opinion. A still more crude reform of the alphabet, which 
the Frankish king contrived, and proposed to put in force by having existing books rewritten, 
Gregory effectually resisted. 

Roman Law. — The barbarians were profoundly impressed by the system 
of Roman law. This they recognized as the rule for the Roman population 
in the different countries. More and more they incorporated its exact pro- 
visions into their own codes. Among the West Goths in Spaht the two 
elements were ultimately fused into one body of laws (642-701). Under the 
Franks, the Roman municipal system was not extinguished; the Teutonic 
count or bishop standing in the room of the Roman president or consular, 
and a more popular body taking the place of the restricted municipality. The 
Roman civil polity, with its definite enactments for every relation in life and 
every exigency, was always at hand, and exercised an increasing control. 

State of Learning. — The Latin language — the rustic Latin of the 
lower classes — was spoken by the conquered peoples. Latin was the lan- 
guage of the Church and of the Law. The consequence was, that the two 
languages, the tongue of the conquerors and of the Roman subjects, existed 
side by side in an unconscious struggle with one another. In the west and 
south of Europe, the victory was on the side of the Latin. The languages 
of these countries, the " Latin nations," grew out of the rustic dialects spoken 
in Roman times. In these nations the result of the mixture of the races 
was the final predominance of the Latin element in the civilization. In 
Gaul, the Franks yielded to Latin influences : France was the product. With 
the fall of the empire, classical culture died out. The cathedral and cloister 
schools preserved the records of literature. The study of language, and the 
mental discrimination and refinement which spring from it and from literary 
discipline, passed away. Centuries of comparative illiteracy — dark centu- 
ries — followed. Yet the monks were often active in their own rude style of 
composition; and among them were not only good men, but men of eminent 
natural abilities, who were unconsciously paving the way for a better time. 

Saxon England. — In England, by the Saxon conquest, a purely Teu- 
tonic kingdom was built up. The Saxons were heathen, who had never felt 
the civilizing influence of Rome. The traces of the earlier state of things 
in the province which had long been sundered from the empire, they swept 
away in the progress of their conquest. 



CHAPTER in. 
THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 



Religious Disputes. — While the West was beginning to recover 
from the shock of the barbarian invasions, society in the Eastern 
Empire was growing more enervated and corrupt. For a consid- 
erable period the Byzantine government was managed by the 
influence of women. Thus Theodosius II., the successor of Arca- 
dius (408-450), was governed during his whole reign by his sister 
Pukheria. In the East, there was an intense interest felt in the 
abstruse questions of metaphysical theology. The Greek mind 
was speculative ; and eager and often acrimonious debate on such 
questions as were raised by Nestorius respecting the two natures 



2l8 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

of the Saviour, was heard even in the shops and markets. The 
court meddled actively in these heated controversies, and was 
swayed to one party or the other by the theologians whom, for the 
time, it took into its favor. The emperors assumed the high pre- 
rogative of personally deciding in doctrinal disputes, and of dic- 
tating opinions to the clergy, who gradually lost their independence, 
and became abjectly subservient to the imperial will. 

The Hippodrome. — The rage for doctrinal dispute in the sixth 
century was only exceeded by the passions kindled in connec- 
tion with the circus, or hippodrome, at Constantinople. In old 
Rome the competitors in the chariot-races were organized, the 
drivers wore their respective badges, — red, white, blue, or green, 
— and emperors of the baser sort, like Caligula and Caracalla, 
visited the stables, and were enrolled on the lists of the rival 
factions. But in Constantinople the factions of the bhie and the 
greeti, not content with the contest of the race-course, were violent 
political parties in which courtiers and the emperor himself took 
sides. The animosity of the dines and the greens broke out in 
frequent bloody conflicts in the streets. Their respective adher- 
ents spread into the provinces. On one occasion, \ynAtx Justinian, 
they raised a sedition called Nika (from the watchword used by 
the combatants), which well-nigh subverted the throne. In this 
period the body-guard of the emperor played a part resembling 
that of the old praetorians at Rome. 

Justinian. — \ new dynasty began w'lih. Justi7i I., who succeeded 
Anastasius in 518. A peasant from Dai'dania (Bulgaria), who to 
the end of life was obliged to sign his name by means of an 
engraved tablet, but, from being prefect of the Guard, became 
emperor, Justin was still not without merit as a ruler. He edu- 
cated his r\t\A-\tw, Justinian I. (527-565), and made him his suc- 
cessor. Justinian married Theodora, who had been a comedian 
and a courtesan, and was famous for her beauty. She was the 
daughter of Acacius, who had had the care of the wild beasts 
maintained by one of the factions of the circus. She joined the 
blues, and it was her brave spirit that prevented Justinian from 
taking flight when he was in imminent danger from the revolt of 
the Nika. The most important proceedings and decisions in 
affairs of state were determined by her will. Outwardly correct 
in her life, and zealous for orthodoxy, her vigor of ' mind and 
cleverness were not without service to the government ; but her 
vindictive passions had full indulgence. Justinian's reign was the 
most brilliant period in the Byzantine history after the time of 
Constantine. Under his despotic rule the last vestiges of republi- 
can administration were obliterated. His love of pomp and of 
extravagant expendityre, in connection with his costly wars, sub- 
jected the people to a crushing weight of taxation. 



THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 219 

War with Persia. — The brilliant achievements in war during 
Justinian's reign were owing to the skill and valor of his generals, 
especially of the hero Belismius. After a hundred years of amity 
with Persia, war with that kingdom broke out once more under 
Anastasiiis and Justin. Belisarius saved the Asiatic provinces, 
and defended the empire on the east against Cobad, and against 
his successor, Chosroes I. (531-579), who was, perhaps, the great- 
est of the Persian kings of the Sassanid dynasty. The " endless 
peace " made with him in 533 lasted but seven years. Chosroes 
captured Antioch in 540. The worst consequences of this success 
were again averted by Belisarius, who was recalled from Italy in 
all haste. In the treaty of ^^62, Jus tini a ji ingloriously agreed to 
pay for the honor of being the protector of the Christians in 
Persia the annual tribute of thirty thousand pieces of gold. 

Conquest of Africa. — From a military point of view the con- 
quests oi Justinian in Africa, in Italy, and in Spain, were the signal 
events of his reign. Victory proved fatal to the barbarian con- 
querors in those countries. They were weakened by the southern 
climate, by sensual indulgence, and by strife among themselves. 
Justinian was ready to profit by this diminished capacity of resist- 
ance. Gelimer, king of the Vandals, had put to death Hilderic, 
a kinsman of Theodosius I. The emperor made this an occasion 
of attacking the Vandal kingdom, which was distracted by reli- 
gious differences and contention. Belisarius sailed to Africa with 
a fleet of six hundred vessels, manned with twenty thousand sail- 
ors and fifteen thousand troops. Three months after landing he 
gained a decisive victory, and took possession of Africa, Sardinia, 
and the Balearic Isles (534). He carried Gelimer as a captive to 
Constantinople, and presented him to Justinian and Theodora, 
seated side by side in the hippodrome to receive the triumphal 
procession in honor of the victor. The captive ruler could only 
exclaim, "Vanity, vanity ! All is vanity ! " 

Conquest of Italy. — Professedly to avenge the wrongs of 
Amalasontha, the ambitious and intriguing daughter of Theodoi'ic, 
who had been killed as a consequence of the disaffection of the 
Goths, Belisarius was sent to Italy. Sicily was conquered (535), 
and Naples and Ro?ne v^ere taken (536). Vitiges, the new king 
of the Goths, united the forces of the nation ; but he was driven 
to shut himself up in Ravenna, and Ravenna surrendered (540). 
The Goths had offered the sovereignty of the country to Belisa- 
rius. The jealousy of Justinian, and war with Persia, led to the 
recall of Belisarius before he could complete the work of con- 
quest. The Goths under Totila, a nephew of the late king, re- 
gained the greater part of Italy. Belisarius (544-549) was sent 
for the second time to conquer that country. He gained impor- 
tant successes, and recaptured Rome ; but he was feebly supported 



220 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

by the suspicious and envious ruler at Constantinople, and was at 
length called home. Narses, a eunuch, insignificant in person, 
but as crafty as he was brave, was commissioned to accomplish 
what BeHsarius had not been allowed to effect. He entered Italy 
at the head of an army, made up mostly of Huns, Heruh, and 
other barbarians, and defeated Totila, who died of his wounds 
(552). The Ostrogothic kingdom fell. The Gothic warriors who 
survived had leave to quit the country with their property, they 
having taken an oath never to return. The Ostrogoths, as a na- 
tion, vanish from history. The Exarchate, or vice-royalty of the 
Eastern Empire, was established, with its seat at Ravenna. In 
Spain, Justinian obtained Corduba, Assidona, Segontia (554), in 
reward of the assistance which he had rendered to Athanagild 
against a competitor for the throne. Constantinople was saved 
by BeHsarius from a threatened attack of the Bulgarians, who 
had crossed the Danube on the ice (559). This great general, 
whose form and stature and benign manners attracted the ad- 
miration of the people, as his noble but poorly requited services 
gave him a right to the gratitude of the sovereign, was accused, 
in 563, of conspiracy against the life of Justinian. His property 
was confiscated, but his innocence was finally declared. The story 
that he was deprived of his eyes, and compelled to beg his bread, 
is not credited. He died in 565. A few months later Justiniaii 
himself died at the age of eighty-three. He has been aptly com- 
pared, as to his personal character and the character of his reign, 
to Louis XIV. of France. Among the many structures which he 
reared was the temple of St. Sophia at Constantinople, and count- 
less fortresses for the defense of the capital, of the Danube, and 
of other parts of the exposed frontier. 

The Civil Law. — Justinian's principal distinction in history grows out 
of his relation to legislation, and to the study of the law. He caused a 
famous lawyer, Tribonian, with the aid of a body of jurists, to make those 
collections of ancient law which are still in force in many countries. The 
Code included the imperial constitutions and edicts in twelve books (527, 528). 
This was followed (533) by the Institutes, embracing the principles of Roman 
jurisprudence, which was to be studied in the schools of Constantinople, 
Beryttis, and Rotne ; and the Digest, or Pandects, comprising the most valu- 
able passages from the writings of the old jurists, that were deemed of 
authority. In this last work three million lines were reduced to a hundred 
and fifty thousand. Finally a fourth work, The Novels, embraced the laws 
of Justinian after the publication of the code (534-565). These works, 
taken together, form the Civil Law, — the Corpus Juris Civilis. They are 
the legacy of Rome to later times. Humane principles are incorporated 
into the civil law, but, likewise, the despotic system of imperialism. 

The Lombards in Italy. — In the great "Wandering of the 
Nations," the German tribe of Lombards, or Langobards, had 
made their way into Pannonia. To the east of them, in Dacia, 
there had arisen the kingdom of the Gepidce, a people akin to the 



THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 221 

Goths. In that region, also, were the Turanian Avars, with 
whom the Lombards aUied themselves, and overthrew the king- 
dom of the Gepid^e. After the conquest of Italy, Narses had 
established there the Byzantine system of rule and of grinding 
taxation. Discontent was the natural result. The enemies of 
Narses at Constantinople persuaded Justin II. and his queen 
Sophia, who had great influence over him, that prudence de- 
manded the recall of the able, but avaricious and obnoxious, gov- 
ernor. The queen was reported to have said, that " he should 
leave to men the exercise of arms, and return to his proper station 
among the women of the palace, where a distaff should be placed 
in the eunuch's hand." " I will spin her such a thread," Narses 
is said to have replied, " as she shall not unravel her life long." 
He forthwith invited the Lombards into Italy, an invitation which 
they were not loth to accept. Alboin was their leader, who had 
married the beautiful Rosamond, daughter of the Gepid king 
whom he had slain. Narses repented of his rash proceeding, but 
he died before he could organize a resistance to the invaders. 
These founded the great Lombard kingdom in the north of 
Italy, and the smaller Lombard states of Spoleto and Beneven- 
tiim. Ravenna, — the residence of the Exarchs, — Rome, Na- 
ples, and the island city of Venice, were centers of districts still 
remaining subject to the Greek emperor, as were also the southern 
points of the two peninsulas of Southern Italy, and, for the time, 
the three main islands. Alboin was killed in 5 74 at the instiga- 
tion of Rosamond, to whom, it was said, at a revel he had sent wine 
to drink in the skull of Cunimtind, her father. The Lombards 
were not like the Goths. They formed no treaties, but seized on 
whatever lands they wanted, reserving to themselves all political 
rights. The new-comers were Arian in religion, and partly 
heathen. There was little intermixture by marriage between the 
two classes of inhabitants. Lombard and Roman was each gov- 
erned by his own system of law. Later, especially under the 
kings Liutprand, Rachis, and Aistulf (749-756), this antagonism 
was much lessened, and the Roman law gained a preponderating 
influence in the Lombard codes. Gradually the power of the 
independent Lombard duchies increased. The strength of the 
Lombard kingdom was thus reduced. The Lombards more and 
more learned the arts of civilized life from the Romans, and 
shared in the trading and industrial pursuits of the cities. Their 
gradual conversion to Catholic Christianity brought the two peo- 
ples still nearer together. It was within half a century of the Lom- 
bard conquest that Gregory I. (Gregory the Great) held the papal 
office (590-604). 

After Justinian. — During the century and a half that followed 
the death of Justinian, the history of the Byzantine court and 



222 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

empire is an almost unbroken tale of crime and degeneracy. 
The cruelty of such emperors as Phocas (602-610) and Justinian 
11. surpasses the brutality of Nero and Domitian. The reign of 
Heraclius is the only refreshing passage in this dreary and repul- 
sive record. He led his armies in person in a series of cam- 
paigns against Chosroes II., the Persian king. At the very time 
when Constantinople was besieged in vain by a host of Persians 
and Avars, he conducted his forces into the heart of the Persian 
Empire ; and in a great battle near Nineveh in 627, he won a deci- 
sive victory. With the reign of Heraclius, the transient prosperity 
of the Greek Empire comes to an end. It was exhausted, even 
by its victories. Overwhelmed with taxation, it was ruined in its 
trade and industry. Despotism in the rulers, sensuality and base- 
ness in rulers and subjects, undermined public and private virtue. 
In addition to other enemies on every side, it was attacked by the 
Arabians ; and Heraclius lived to see the loss of Syria and of 
Egypt, and the capture of Alexandria, by these new assailants. 

Controversy on Image-'Worship. — The period of theological 
debate, when at its height in the fourth and fifth centuries, what- 
ever extravagances of doctrinal zeal attended it, dealt with themes 
of grave importance ; and controversy was often waged by men of 
high abihty and moral worth. After that time, there succeeded 
to the tempest an intellectual stagnation, under the blighting 
breath of despotism, coupled with the effect of a lassitude, the 
natural sequel of the long-continued disputation. But, in the 
eighth and ninth centuries, a new controversy took place, which 
convulsed the Eastern Empire, and extended to the West. The 
matter in dispute was the use of images in worship. Pictorial 
representations had been gradually introduced in the earlier cen- 
turies, but had been opposed, especially in Egypt and in the Afri- 
can Church. After the time of Constantine, they came by degrees 
into universal use. This formed a ground of reproach on the part 
of the Mohammedans. The warfare upon images was begun by 
Leo III, the Isaurian (717-741), a rough soldier with no appre- 
ciation of art, who issued an edict against them. The party of 
" image-breakers," or iconoclasts, had numerous adherents ; and 
the opposite party of "image-worshipers," who had a powerful 
support from the monks in the convents, were ardent and inflex- 
ible in withstanding the imperial measures. Neither the remon- 
strances of John of Datnascus, the last of the Greek Fathers, nor 
of the Roman bishop, made an impression on Leo. The agita- 
tion spread far and wide. Subsequent emperors followed in his 
path. At length, however, the Empress Irene (780-802) restored 
image-worship ; and, in 842, the Empress Theodora finally con- 
firmed this act. In the controversy, religious motives were active, 
but they were mingled on both sides with political considerations. 



THE EASTERN EMPIRE. 223 

The alienation of feeling on the part of the Roman bishops was 
one cause of the separation of Italy from the Greek Empire. 

Literature and Culture. — While there was a prevalence of illiteracy 
in the West, there continued in the Eastern Empire an interest in letters, and 
a respect for classical literature. Devoted Greek monks taught the Gospel 
to the Bulgarians and to the Slavonian tribes on its borders. Cyril and 
Methodius, faithful missionaries, gave the Bible to the Moravians in their own 
tongue. In the seventh century, John of Damascus compiled from the Greek 
Fathers a celebrated treatise on theology. But the period of original thought 
in theology, as elsewhere, had passed by. This work of the Damascene was 
made up chiefly of excerpts from the Fathers before him. In earlier days the 
church in the East had been served by erudite theologians of great talents 
and of great excellence, such as Basil the Great (32S-379), Gregory of Nyssa, 
Gregory of NazianziDii (326-390) ; all of whom were liberal-minded men, stren- 
uous defenders of orthodox doctrine, and yet not unfriendly to philosophical 
study. Of even wider fame was 'yoh7i Chtysostom (347-407), a preacher of 
captivating eloquence and of an earnest Christian spirit, whose censure 
of the vices of the Byzantine court provoked the wrath of the Empress 
Eudoxia, and twice drove him into banishment. In the declining days of the 
empire, literary effort was mainly confined to compilations and comments. 
Eusebius, in the fourth century, had written a Histmy of the Chtirch, and a 
Chronicle, or General History; and, a century later (about 432), Zosimus 
composed a History in a spirit of antipathy to Christianity and of sympathy 
with the old religion. To Frocopius (who died about 565) we owe an inter- 
esting history of the times of Justinian. After the seventh century, all traces 
of life and spirit vanish from the pages of the Byzantine historians. In 
mathematics and astronomy, in architecture and mechanics, the Byzantine 
Greeks were the teachers of the Arabians and of the new peoples of the 
A^'est. 'The Byzantine style of architecture was of a distinct type, and was 
widely diffused. 

The Slavonic Tribes. — In the sixth century the Slavojiian tribes come 
into view. The Avars stirred up such a commotion among those tribes as the 
Huns had created among the Germans. The Slaves were driven to the north- 
west, where later they came into relations with Germany ; and to the south- 
west, where, as conquerors and as learners, they stood, in some degree, in 
relation to the Eastern Empire, in the same position as that of the Germans 
in reference to the Western. North and East of the Adriatic arose Slavo- 
nian States, as Servia, Croatia, Carinthia. Istria and Dalmatia, except the 
cities on the coast, became Slavonic. The Slaves displaced the old Illyrian 
race. In the seventh and eighth centuries, Macedonia and Greece were 
largely occupied by Slavonians. The Bulgarians were a Turanian people, 
who mixed with the Slavonians, and adopted their language. In 895 the 
Magyars, a Turanian people, crowded into Dacia and Pan7ionia; and thus 
the Bulgarians were confined to the lands south of the Danube. The Mag- 
yars formed the kingdom of Hungary. The Slavonian Russians were cut off 
from the Southern tribes of the same race. 



CHAPTER IV. 
MOHAMMEDANISM AND THE ARABIC CONQUESTS. 

Condition of Arabia. — In the sixth century the influence of 
the Greek and of the Persian Empires, especially of the Persian, 
was prevalent in Arabia. It was then inhabited mostly by tribes 



224 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

either distinct or loosely bound together, and contained no inde- 
pendent state of any considerable importance. The Arabs of that 
day had " all the virtues and vices of the half-savage state, its re- 
venge and its rapacity, its hospitahty and its bounty." In the Hejaz 
district — situated between fertile and more civihzed Yemen, or 
Arabia Felix, in the south-west of the peninsula and the Sinaitic 
region, — and in Nejd to the east of Hejaz, which were the two 
districts in which Islam and the Arabian Empire took their rise, 
dwelt tribes whose common sanctuary was the Kaaba at Mecca, 
in the wall of which was the quadrangular black stone kissed 
by all devotees, and supposed to have been received from the 
angel Gabriel. The religion of the Arabs was polytheism in many 
different forms, in which idol-worship was prominent ; but all 
agreed in acknowledging one supreme God, Allah, in whose name 
solemn oaths were taken. Once in the year the tribes gathered 
in Mecca for their devotions ; and a great fair in the vicinity, 
attended by a poetical contest, made the city prosperous. The 
town was made up of separate Septs, or patriarchal families, each 
under its own head, of which septs the Omayyads were of princi- 
pal importance, and had charge of the Kaa.ba. Mohammed be- 
longed to the Hashimites, another and poorer branch of the leading 
tribe of Koreish. The Koreishites, by their trading-journeys to 
Syria, had acquired more culture then others, whether Bedouins, 
or residents of Medina. At the time when Mohammed was bom, 
which was probably in 572, the religion of the Arabs had sunk 
into idolatry or indifference. There were three hundred and sixty 
images in the Kaaba. But there were some who were called 
hanifs, who were serious and earnest, and turned away from idola- 
trous worship. Besides the Sabian religion of the Persian sun- 
worshipers, the leading tenets and rites of Christianity and of 
Judaism, both in the degenerate types which they assumed on the 
Syrian borders, were not unfamiliar to Arabs dwelling in the cara- 
van routes on the borders of the Red Sea. 

Career of Mohammed. — Mohammed was early left an orphan 
under the care of his uncle Abit Talib. In his youth he tended 
sheep, and gathered wild berries in the desert. In his twenty-fifth 
year he became the commercial agent of a wealthy widow, Khadija, 
made journeys for her into Palestine and Syria, — where he may 
have received religious knowledge and impressions from Christian 
monks and Jewish rabbis, — and, after a time, married her. He is 
described as having a commanding presence, with piercing eyes, 
fluent in speech, and with pleasing ways. Eventually he came into 
close contact with the hanifs. He followed the custom of retiring 
for meditation and prayer to the lonely and desolate Mount Hira. 
A vivid sense of the being of one Almighty God and of his own re- 
sponsibility to God, entered into his soul. A tendency to hysteria 



MOHAMMEDANISM. 225 

— in the East a disease of men as well as of women — and to epi- 
lepsy helps to account for extraordinary states of body and mind of 
which he was the subject. At first he ascribed his strange ecstasies, 
or hallucinations, to evil spirits, especially on the occasion when an 
angel directed him to begin the work of prophesying. But he was 
persuaded by Khadija that their source was from above. He be- 
came convinced that he was a prophet inspired with a holy truth 
and charged with a sacred commission. His wife was his first 
convert. His faith he called Islam, which signifies " resignation to 
the divine will." His cousin Ali, his friend Abiibekr, and a few 
others, believed in him. There is no doubt that the materials of 
Mohammed's creed were drawn from Jewish and Christian sources : 
Abraham was the hanif, whose pure monotheism he claimed to 
re-assert ; but the animating spirit was from within. The sum of 
his doctrine was, that there is only one God, and that Mohammed 
is the apostle of God. 

After the Hegira. — The Koreishites, the rulers and the elders, 
persecuted him. They flung out the reproach, that his adherents 
were from the poor or from the rank of slaves. This provoked 
him to denounce them, and to threaten them with the Divine judg- 
ment and with perdition. He lost his uncle in 619 : his wife had 
died before. He had found sympathy with his claims from pious 
men from Medina. They offered him an asylum. Thither he 
went in 622, the date of his Hijira, or flight from Mecca, from 
which the Mohammedan calendar is reckoned. At Medina he 
won influence : he was frequently resorted to as an adviser, and 
as a judge to settle disputes. His activity in this direction was 
beneficent. His injunctions respecting the rights of property, and 
the protection due to women, were, in the main, discreet and 
wholesome. Naturally and speedily he became a political leader 
as well as a religious reformer. This new course on which he 
entered made a breach between him and \^q Jews, whom he had 
hoped to conciliate. He drew off from fellowship with them, made 
Friday the principal day of public worship, and Mecca its principal 
seat. For the Jewish fast he substituted the month of Raviada^i. 
His plan was to cement together the Arab tribes, superseding the 
old tie of blood by the new bond of fellowship in adherence to 
him. The project of a holy war to conquer and to crush the 
idolaters, and to establish his own authority, was the means to 
this end. Mecca was the first object of assault. He attacked and 
plundered a Meccan caravan in 623. The next year he defeated 
the Koreishites in the battle oi Bedr. In the battle of Ohod (625) 
his followers were worsted. Other conflicts ensued, with attacks 
on ih^ Jews in the intervals, until, in 630, he entered Mecca at the 
head of ten thousand men, and destroyed all the idols. This event 
secured the adhesion of the Arabian tribes, together with the chiefs 



226 MEDI/EVAL HISTORY. 

of Yemen and of the other more civihzed districts. Hearing that 
the Emperor Heraclius was proposing to attack him, he went forth 
to meet him, but found that the rumor was false. He was prepar- 
ing a new expedition against the Greeks when he died, in 632. 

Character of Mohammed. — From the time of the flight of 
Mohammed to Medina, the prophet turned more and more into the 
politician. Under the circumstances, this was, perhaps, an almost 
inevitable change. But one consequence was the bringing out of 
his natural vindictiveness, and the transformation of the enthusiast 
into the fanatic. Beginning as the prophet of Arabia, he came to 
think that he was the prophet of the whole world. There was a 
call to a wider warfare against idolatry. A crusade, partly political 
and partly religious, involved a mixture of craft and cruelty which 
exhibit his character in a new light. Yet it is probable that he 
always sincerely felt that his work in general was one to which he 
was called of God. Even the prosaic regulations and " orders of 
the day," which are placed in the Koran, if not the reproduction, 
in cataleptic visions, of his previous thoughts, may have been re- 
garded by him as having a divine sanction. The extent of possible 
self-deception in so extraordinary a combination of qualities, it is 
not easy to define. His conduct was, for the most part, on a level 
with his precepts. There was one exception ; he allowed not more 
than four wives to a disciple : he himself, at one time, had eleven. 
While Khadija lived he was wedded to her alone. 

The Koran. — The Koran is regarded as the word of God by a hundred 
millions of disciples. It is very unequal in style. In parts it is vigorous, and 
here and there imaginative, but generally its tone is prosaic. Its narrative 
portions are chiefly about scriptural persons, especially those of the Old Tes- 
tament. Mohammed's acquaintance with these must have been indirect, from 
rabbinical and apocryphal sources. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ 
are acknowledged as prophets. The deity of Christ and the doctrine of the 
Trinity are repudiated. The miracles of Jesus are acknowledged. Moham- 
med does not claim for himself miraculous power. Predestination is taught, 
but this became a conspicuous tenet of Moslems after the death of the founder. 
The immortality of the soul is admitted, the pains of hell are threatened to 
the wicked and to " infidels ; " and a sensual paradise is promised to the faith- 
ful, although it is declared that higher spiritual joys are the lot of the most 
favored. The faith of Mohammed was, in substance, Judaism, the religion 
of the Old Testament ; power being set before holiness, however, in the con- 
ception of God, and the supernatural mission of l\Iohammed substituted for 
the future Messianic reign of righteousness and peace, and coupled with the 
emphatic proclamation of the last judgment. The law in the Koran is a 
civil as well as a moral code. Notwithstanding his countenance of sensuality 
by his own practice, as well as by his legalizing of polygamy, and his notion 
of paradise, Mohammed elevated the condition of woman among the Arabs. 
Before there was unbridled profligacy : now there was a regulated polygamy. 
Severe prohibitions are uttered against thieving, usury, fraud, false witness ; 
and alms-giving is emphatica'iiy enjoined. Strong drink and gambling were 
prohibited. 

The gem of the Koran is " The Lord's Prayer of the Moslems : " " In the 
name of God, the compassionate Compassioner, the Sovereign of the day of 



MOHAMMEDAN CONQUESTS. 22/ 

judgment. Thee do we worship, and of Thee do we beg assistance. Direct 
us in the right way; in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious, 
in whom there is no wrath, and who go not astray." 

The Arabic Conquests : Syria, Persia, Egypt. — Mohammed 
made no provision for the succession. The Caliphs, or " success- 
ors," combined in themselves civil, military and religious authority. 
They united the functions of emperor and pope. Ali, the husband 
of Fatima, Mohammed's favorite daughter, had hoped to succeed 
him. But, by the older companions of the t^xoi^Yit.'i, Abubekr, Mo- 
hammed's father-in-law was appointed. The SJiiites were sup- 
porters of Ali, while the Simnites, who adhered to " the traditions 
of the elders," were against him. These two parties have con- 
tinued until the present day ; the Persians being Shiites, and the 
Turks, Siinnites. Mohammed, before he died, was inflamed with 
the spirit of conquest. Full of the fire of fanaticism, mingled with 
a thirst for dominion and plunder, the Arabians rapidly extended 
their sway. These warriors, to their credit be it said, if terrible in 
attack, were mild in victory. Their two principal adversaries were 
the Eastern Empire and Persia. Mohammedanism snatched from 
the empire those provinces in which the Greek civilization had not 
taken deep root, and it made its way mto Europe. It conquered 
Persia, and became the principal religion of those Asiatic nations 
with wjiich history mainly has to do. Mohammed had made a 
difference in his injunctions between heathen, apostates, and schis- 
matics, all of whom were to embrace Islam or to perish, and 
Jews and Christians, to both of whom was given the choice of the 
Koran, tribute, or death. They must buy the right to exercise their 
religion, if they refused to say that " Allah is God, and Mohammed 
is His prophet." Omar (634-644), the next caliph after Abu- 
bekr, and a leader distinguished alike for his military energy and 
his simplicity of manners and life, first brought all Arabia, which 
was impelled as much by a craving for booty as by religious zeal, 
into a cordial union under his banner. Then he carried the war 
beyond the Arabian borders. Palestine and Syi'ia were wrested 
from the Greek Empire ; the old cities oi Jemsalem, Antioch, and 
Damascus fell into the hands of the impetuous Saracens. A mosque 
was erected on the site of Solomon's Temple. The Persian Empire 
was invaded, and, after a series of sanguinary battles, especially the 
battle of Cadesia (636), followed by the battle of Nehavend 
(641), was destroyed. Ctesiphon, with all its riches, was cap- 
tured, and Pej-sepolis was sacked. The last king of the line of 
Sassa?iids, Yezdegerd III., having lived for many years as a fugitive, 
perished by the hand of an assassin (652). Meantime ^^^1^/ had 
submitted to the irresistible invaders under Affir, who was aided 
by the Christian sect of the Copts, out of hostility to the Greek 
Orthodox Church. After a siege of fourteen months, Alexandria 



228 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

was taken ; but it is probably not true that the library was burned 
by Omar''s order. In the disorders of the times, the great collec- 
tions of books had probably, for the most part, been dispersed 
and destroyed. Six friends of Mohammed, selected by Omar, 
chose Oihman (644-656) for his successor, who stirred up enmity 
by his pride and avarice. Under him the Christian Berbers in 
Africa were won over to the faith of Islam, and paved the way for 
its further advance. 

The Omayyads: Conquest of Africa and Spain. — Oihman was 
assassinated by three fanatics, and Ali was then raised to the cal- 
iphate ; but M7iawiyah, representing the family of the Omayyads, 
made himself the head of an opposing party, and, after the assassi- 
nation of Ali, became sole caliph (661). He removed the seat 
of the caliphate to Damascus. He carried the Arabian conquests 
as far as the Indus and Bokhara. He created a fleet on the 
Mediterranean, under an " Admiral," that is, a commander on 
the sea. In seven successive years he menaced Constantinople 
with his navy. At a later time, in 717, under the caliph Soli- 
man, another great attempt was made on the capital of the Greek 
Empire. With an army of a hundred and twenty thousand men, 
he traversed Asia Minor and the Hellespont, and was supported in 
his attack by a fleet of eighteen hundred sail. But the energetic 
defense, which was aided by the use of "the Greek fire," — an arti- 
ficial compound which exploded and burned with an unquench- 
able flame, — caused the grand expedition to fail ; and the Eastern 
Empire had another long lease of life. The successors of Mua- 
wiyah accomplished the subjugation of Africa. They were invited 
by the native inhabitants, who groaned under the burdens of tax- 
ation laid on them by the Greek emperors. About A.D. 700 the 
Arab governor, Musa, completed the conquest of the African do- 
minion of the Greeks as far as the Atlantic. The amalgamation 
of the Berbers with the other inhabitants of that region, and with 
the Arabs, resulted in the race called Moors. At this time the 
Spanish Visigothic kingdom, which had become Catholic (586- 
601), was much enfeebled, and a prey to discord. Under Tarik 
— from whom Gibraltar, or the mountain of Tarik near which 
he landed, is named — the Arabs crossed into Spain, and for the 
first time found themselves face to face with the barbarians of the 
North. In the great battle of Xeres de la Frontera, near the Gua- 
dalquivir, in 711, which lasted for three days, the fate of the 
Visigothic kingdom was decided. Eight years were occupied in 
conquering Spain. In 720 the Saracens occupied Septimania north 
of the Pyrenees, a dependency of the Gothic kingdom. Gaul now 
lay open before them. The Mohammedan power threatened to 
encircle Christendom, and to destroy the Church and Christianity 
itself. In the plains between Tours and Poitiers, the Saracens were 



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MOHAMMEDAN STATES. 229 

met by the Austrasian Franks under Charles Martel (732). The 
impetuous charges of the Saracen cavalry were met and beaten 
back by the infantry of the Franks, which confronted them hke an 
iron wall. The Mohammedan defeat saved Christian Europe from 
being trampled under foot by the Mussulman ; it saved the Chris- 
tian people of the Aryan nations from being subjugated by the 
Semitic disciples of the Koran. At the same time that Spain was 
overrun, the Turkish lands on the east of the Caspian were sub- 
dued. The old antipathy between the Iranians and Turanians, 
the Schiite Persians and the Sunnite Turks, was afterwards carried 
into Europe by the Ottoman Moslems. 

The Abbassides : Bagdad. — Misgovernment embittered the 
faithful against the rule of the Omayyads in Damascus, although 
Syria had become a source of higher culture for the Arabians : 
there they became acquainted with Greek learning. The adher- 
ents of AH found vigorous champions in the Abbassides, who, as 
Bashimites, laid claim to the caliphate. One of them, Abul 
Abbas, was made caHph by the soldiers in 750. The fierce cru- 
elty of his party against the Omayyads led to the murder of all 
of them except Abderrahman, who fled to Africa, and, in 755, 
founded an independent caliphate at Cordova. The Abbassides 
attached themselves to the Sunnite creed. Under Almansor, the 
brother and successor of Abbas, Bagdad, a city founded by Al- 
mansor (754-775) on the banks of the Tigris, was made the seat 
of the caliphate, and so continued until the great Mongolian in- 
vasion in 1258. Bagdad was built on the west bank of the Tigris, 
but, by means of bridges, stretched over to the other shore. It 
was protected by strong, double walls. It was not only the proud 
capital of the caliphate : it was, besides, the great market for the 
trade of the East, the meeting-place of many nations, where cara- 
vans from China and Thibet, from India, and from Ferghana in 
the modern Turkestan, met throngs of merchants from Armenia 
and Constantinople, from Egypt and Arabia. There trading-fleets 
gathered which carried the products of the North and West down 
the great rivers to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Bag- 
dad was to the caliphs what Byzantium was to Constantine, or 
Alexandria to the Ptolemies. It became the grandest city in the 
world. Canals to the number of six hundred ran through it, and 
a hundred and five bridges bound its two parts together. It 
was furnished with many thousand mosques and as many baths. 
The palace of the caliphs comprised in itself all the splendor 
which Asiatic taste and extravagance could collect and combine 
in one edifice. 

The Eastern Caliphate. — Deprived of the western extremity 
of their empire, the Abbassides still ruled over Asia and Africa. 
In their luxurious and splendid court, the caliphs, served by a 



230 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

vast retinue of ofificers with the Vizier at their head, copied the 
magnificence of the ancient Persians. The most famous of the 
cahphs of Bagdad is Hartm-al-Rashid, or "Aaron the Just" 
(786-809). His name is familiar even to children as the won- 
derful hero of the "Arabian Nights." His reign, like that of 
Solomon in ancient Judaea, was considered in after times the 
golden age of the caliph dominion. As in the case of Charle- 
magne, poetry and romance invested his character and reign with 
all that can give glory and honor to a king and a sage. Brilliant 
pictures were drawn of the boundless wealth and luxury of his 
court, and of his admirable piety and wisdom. About him there 
was assembled a host of jurists, hnguists, and poets. Three hun- 
dred scholars traveled at his expense through different lands. 
Righteous judgments were ascribed to him, and oracular sayings. 
He was made the ideal ruler of Oriental fancy. His real character 
fell much below the later popular conception. He behaved Hke 
an Eastern despot towards all his kindred who stood in his way. 
The Persian family of Barmecides he exterminated, when his pas- 
sionate attachment to one of them turned to hatred on account 
of an obscure affair connected with the harem. Stories told by 
Western chroniclers of his relations with Charlemagne require 
to be sifted. The Greek emperor Nicephorus, who had rashly 
defied him, he addressed as the " Roman dog." Nine times 
Harun invaded the Greek Empire, left its provinces wasted as by 
a hurricane, and extorted from it a tribute which he obliged the 
emperors, who repented of their daring, to pay in coin stamped 
with his image. His best distinction is in the liberal patronage 
which he, no doubt, extended to learning. In this he was imi- 
tated by his son Al Mamun (813-833), who founded numerous 
schools, and expended vast sums in behalf of science and letters. 
The caliphate was weakened by the introduction of the Turks, 
somewhat as the Roman Empire fared from its relations with the 
Germans. Motasem (833-842), the eighth of the Abbassides, 
brought in a Turkish guard of forty thousand slaves, purchased in 
Tartar)'. These soldiers, instead of remaining servants, became 
lawless masters, and disposed of the throne as the praetorians at 
Rome had done. The palace of the cahphs was filled with vio- 
lence. Revolution and anarchy, kept up during two centuries, 
broke the caliphate into fragments. Conspiracies and insurrec- 
tions were the order of the day. Africa had detached itself in the 
time of Harun-al-Rashid. In Asia various independent dynasties 
arose, formed mostly by Turkish governors of provinces. 

The Turkish Emirs. — In the eleventh century, the Seljukian 
Turks despoiled the Arabs of their sovereignty in the East. The 
caliph at Bagdad gave up all his temporal power to Togrul Bey 
(1058), and retained simply the spiritual headship over orthodox 



MOHAMMEDAN STATES. 23 1 

Mussulmans. To the Turk who bore the title Emir al Omra, 
was given the military command. He was what the Mayor of 
the Palace had been among the Franks. In 1072 his son, Malek 
Shah, made Ispahan his capital, and governed Asia from China 
to the vicinity of Constantinople. 

The Fatimite Caliphate. — In the ninth and tenth centuries 
the Aglabites (800-909), whose capital was Cairoan (in Tunis), 
were dominant in the Western Mediterranean, established them- 
selves, in their marauding expeditions, in Corsica, Sardinia, and 
Sicily, and several times attacked Italy. In 909 they, with the 
Edrisites, adherents of Ali, in Fez, formed, under a Fatimite 
chief, Moez, with Egypt, the African Caliphate, the seat of which 
was at Cairo (968). The Fatimite cahphs extended their power 
over Syria. The most famous of the caliphs of Cairo was Hakem 
(996-1020), a monster of cruelty, who claimed to be the incarna- 
tion of Deity. These caliphs claimed to be the descendants of Ali 
and of Fati7na. Their dynasty was extinguished by Saladin in 
1171. 

The Caliphs of Cordova. — In Spain the caliphs of Cordova 
allowed to the Christians freedom of worship and their own laws 
and judges. The mingling of the conquerors with the conquered 
gave rise to a mixed Mozarabic population. The Franks conquered 
the country as far as the Ebro (812). Under Mohammed I. (852), 
the Saracen governors of the provinces sought to make themselves 
independent ; but the most brilliant period of the caliphate of Cor- 
dova followed, under Abderrahman III. (912-961). In the elev- 
enth century there was anarchy, produced by the African guard 
of the caliphs, which played a part like that of the Turkish guard 
at Bagdad, and by reason of the rebellion of the governors. In 
103 1 the last descendant of the Omayyads was deposed, and in 
1060 the very title of caliph vanished. ,The caliphate gave place 
to numerous petty Moslem kingdoms. The African Mussul- 
mans came to their help, and thus gave the name of Moors to 
the Spanish Mohammedans. Their language and culture, how- 
ever, remained Arabic. The Arabian conquests had moved like 
a deluge to the Indus, to the borders of Asia Minor, and to the 
Pyrenees. In Syria they were not generally resisted by the peo- 
ple. Egypt, for the same reason, was an easy conquest. It took 
the Moslems sixty years to conqnex Afi'ica . In three years nearly 
all Spain was theirs ; and it was not until seven hundred years 
after this time that they were utterly driven out of that country. 

The Moslem Government. — The Moslem civilization rested on the 
Koran. Grammar, lexicography, theology, and law stood connected at first 
with the study and understanding of the Sacred Book. The Calif h was the 
fountain of authority. There was a fixed system ^of taxation, the poll-tax 
and land-tax being imposed only on non-Moslem subjects. All Moslems 
received a yearly pension, a definite sum determined by their rank. The 



232 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

empire was divided into provinces, each governed by a Prefect, who was a 
petty sovereign, subject only to the Caliph. The Generals were appointed by 
the caliph, by the prefects, or by the Vizier, who was the prime minister. 
The Judges {cadis) were appointed by the same officers. There was a court 
of appeal over which the caliph presided. There were inspectors of the 
markets, who were also censors of morals. The Ifnatn. had for his function 
to recite the public prayers in the mosque. The leader of the yearly pil- 
grimage to Mecca was an officer of the highest dignity. 

Theology: Lavr: Literature. — The Mohammedans entered into dis- 
cussions of theology, which gave rise to differences, and to schools and sects. 
The nature of the Deity, predestination, the future life, were subjects of pro- 
found and subtle inquiry. More than once, pantheistic doctrine was broached 
by speculative minds, such as Avicenita and Averrhoes. In Persia, Sufism, a 
form of mysticism, made great progress. It extolled the unselfish love of God, 
and a contemplative and ascetic life. Law was studied ; and on the basis 
of the Koran, and of reasonings upon it, systems of jurisprudence vk'ere cre- 
ated. Science and Literature kept pace with legal studies. Poetry flourished 
through the whole period of the Eastern caliphate. There were, also, Per- 
sian poets who hold an important place in the history of literature, of whorn 
Firdoitsi (about 940 to 1020) and Saadi (who died in 1291) are the most emi- 
nent. Under the Abhassides in Syria, through Christian scholars and by trans- 
lations, the Arabians became acquainted with the Greek authors. They cul- 
tivated geography. The Moslems were students of astronomy, and carried 
the study of mathematics, which they learned from the Greeks and Hindus, 
very far. But they apparently felt no interest in the poets, orators, and his- 
torians of antiquity. In the study of Aristotle, and in metaphysical philoso- 
phy, they were proficients. Medicine, also, they cultivated with success. 
They delved in Alche7ny in the search for the transmutation of metals. 

Commerce and the Arts. — The Moslems engaged actively in com- 
merce. They acquired much skill in various branches of mechanical art. 
The weapons of Damascus and of Toledo, the silks of Granada, the saddles 
of Cordma, the muslins, silks, and carpets of the Moslem dominions in the 
East, were highly prized in Christian countries. They manufactured paper. 
Forbidden to represent the human form in painting and sculpture, their dis- 
tinction in the fine arts is confined to architecture. Peculiar to them is the 
Arabesque ornamentation found in their edifices : the idea of the arch was 
borrowed from the Byzantine style. One of their most famous monuments 
is the mosque at Cordova. The ruins of the Alhajnbra, in Spain, a palace 
and a fortress, illustrate the richness and elegance of the Saracenic style 
of building. 

The Arabian Mind. — Neitjier in architecture, nor in any other depart- 
ment, were the Arabs in a marked degree original. They invented nothing. 
They were quick to learn, and to assimilate what they learned. They were 
apt interpreters and critics, but they produced no works marked by creative 
genius. Many of the scholars at the court of the caliphs were Christians 
and Jews. Yet Bagdad, Samarcand, Cairo, Grenada, Cordova, were centers 
of intellectual activity and of learning when the nations of Western Europe 
had not escaped from the barbarism resulting from the Teutonic invasions. 

Literature. — Lives of Mohammed by Muir, Sprenger (German), Irving; Encycl. 
Brit., Art. Moliammedaiiism ; Kiienen, Natio7ial Religions and Universal Religions; 
Noldeke, Gesch. d. Qtwrans (i860); Muir, The Cordn (1878); R. B. Smixh, Mohammed 
and Mohammedaitism (1875); Stobart, Islam and its Founder ; Ockley, History 0/ the 
Saracens (sixth edition, 1857) ; Freeman, History and Conquests 0/ the Saracens (1870). 







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FRANK KINGS. 



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Period II. 

FROM THE CARLOVINGIAN LINE OF FRANK KINGS TO 
THE ROMANO-GERMANIC EMPIRE. 

{A.D. 751-962.) 



CHAPTER I. 

THE CARLOVINGIAN EMPIRE TO THE DEATH OP 
CHARLEMAGNE (A.D. 814). 

Pipin the Short. — The great event of the eighth century was 
the organization and spread of the dominion of the Franks, and 
the transfer to them of the Roman Empire of the West. Three 
Frank princes — Cha?ies Martel, Pipin the Short, and Chariemagne, 
or Kari the Great — were the main instruments in bringing in this 
new epoch in European history. They followed a similar course, 
as regards the wars which they undertook, and their general policy. 
Charles Martel, the conqueror of the Saracens at Poitiers, rendered 
great services to the Church ; but he provoked the lasting dis- 
pleasure of the ecclesiastics by his seizures of church property. 
He rewarded his soldiers with archbishoprics. Pipin, however, 
was earnestly supported by the clergy. He had the confidence 
and favor of the Franks, and in 751, with the concurrence of 
Pope Zacharias, deposed Childeric III., and assumed the title 
of king. The long hair of Childeric, the badge of the Frank kings, 
was shorn, and he was placed in a monastery. In 752 Pipin was 
anointed and crowned at Soissons by Boniface, the bishop of 
Mentz, who exerted himself to restore order and discipline in the 
Frank Church, which had fallen into disorder in the times of 
Charles Martel. 

Pipin in Italy. — The controversy with the Greeks about the 
use of images had alienated the popes from the Eastern Empire. 
The encroachments of the Lombards threatened Rome itself, and 
were 'a constant menace to the independence of its bishops. 
Pope Stephen III. resorted to Pipin for help against these aggres- 
sive neighbors ; and, in 754, Stephen solemnly repeated, in the 
cathedral of St. Denis, the ceremony of his coronation. The Car- 
lovingian usurpation was thus hallowed in the eyes of the people 
234 



CHARLEMAGNE. 235 

by the sanction of the Church. The alliance between the Papacy 
and the Franks, so essential to both, was cemented. Pipin crossed 
the Alps in 754, and humbled Aistulf, the Lombard king ; but, as 
Aistulf still kept up his hostility to the Pope, Pipin once more led 
his forces into Italy, and compelled him to become tributary to the 
Frank kingdom, and to cede to him the territory which he had 
won from the Greek Empire, — the exarchate of Ravenna and the 
Pentapolis, or the lands and cities between the Apennines and the 
Adriatic, from Ferrara to Ancona. This territory the Frank king 
formally presented to St. Peter. Thus there was founded the tem- 
poral kingdom of the popes in Italy. Pipin was called Patricius 
of Rome, which made him its virtual sovereign, although the office 
and title implied the continued supremacy of the Eastern Empire. 
He united under him all the conquests which had been made by 
Clovis and his successors. His sway extended over Aquitaine and 
as far as the Pyrenees. It was the rule of the Teutonic North over 
the more Latin South, which had no liking for the Frank sover- 
eignty. 

Charlemagne: the Saxons and Saracens. — Pipin died in 768. 
By the death of his younger son, Carloman, his older son, Charles, 
in 771 became the sole king of the Franks. Charlemagne is 
more properly designated Karl the Great, for he was a German in 
blood and speech, and in all his ways. He stands in the foremost 
rank of conquerors and rulers. His prodigious energy and activity 
as a warrior may be judged by the number of his campaigns, in 
which he was uniformly successful. The eastern frontier of his 
dominions was threatened by the Saxons, the Danes, the Slaves, 
the Bavarians, the Avars. He made eighteen expeditions against 
the Saxons, three against the Danes, one against the Bavarians, 
four against the Slaves, four against the Avars. Adding to these 
his campaigns against the Saracens, Lombards, and other peoples, 
the number of his military expeditions is not less than fifty-three. 
In all but two of his marches against the Saxons, however, he 
accomplished his purpose without a battle. That he was ambi- 
tious of conquest and of fame, is evident. That he had the rough 
ways of his German ancestors, and was unsparing in war, is equally 
certain. Yet he was not less eminent in wisdom than in vigor ; 
and his reign, on the whole, was righteous as well as glorious. 
The two most formidable enemies of Charlemagne were the Sax- 
ons and the Saracens. The Saxon war " was checkered by grave 
disasters, and pursued with undismayed and unrelenting deter- 
mination, in which he spared neither himself nor others. It lasted 
continuously — with its stubborn and ever-recurring resistance, its 
cruel devastations, its winter campaigns, its merciless acts of ven- 
geance — as the effort which called forth all Charles's energy for 
thirty- two years" (772-804). The Saxons were heathen. The 



236 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

conquest of them was the more difficult because it involved the 
forced introduction of Christianity in the room of their old reli- 
gion. More than once, when they seemed to be subdued, they 
broke out in passionate and united revolt. Their fiercest leader 
in insurrection was Witikind. A last and terrible uprising, in con- 
sequence of the slaughter of forty-five hundred Saxons on the 
Aller as a punishment for breach of treaty, was put down in 785, 
when Witikind submitted, and consented to receive Christian bap- 
tism. During the progress of the Saxon war, at the call of the 
Arab governor of Saragassa for aid against the caliph Abderrah- 
vian, Charles marched into Spain, and conquered Saragossa and 
the whole land as far as the Ebro. On his return, in the valley 
of Ronceveaux, the Frank rear guard was surprised and destroyed 
by the Basques. There fell the Frank hero Roland, whose gallant 
deeds were a favorite subject of mediaeval romances. The duchy 
of Bavaria was abolished after a second revolt of its duke, Tassilo 
(788). One of the most brilliant of Charlemagne's wars was that 
against the Yiwxmxc Avars (791). Their land between the ^;;/^ 
and Raab he annexed to his empire. Bavarian colonists were 
planted in it. Enormous treasures which they had gathered, in 
their incursions, from all Europe, were captured, with their " Ring," 
or palace-camp. The Slavonic tribes were kept in awe. Brittany 
was subjugated in 811. In the closing years of Charles's reign, 
the Danes became more and more aggressive and formidable. He 
visited the northern coasts, made Boitlogne and Ghent his harbors 
and arsenals, and built fleets for defense against the audacious 
invaders. 

Charlemagne in Italy. — Some of the most memorable inci- 
dents in Charlemagne's career are connected with Italy. While he 
was busy in the Saxon war, he had been summoned to protect Pope 
Hadrian I. ( 772-795 ) from the attack of the Lombards. To please 
his mother, Charles had married, but he had afterwards divorced, 
the daughter of the Lombard king Desiderius. She was the first 
in the series of Charlemagne's wives, who, it is said, were nine in 
number. By the divorce he incurred the resentment of Deside- 
rius, who required the Pope to anoint the sons of Carlotnan as 
kings of the Franks. In 772 Charlemagne crossed the Alps by 
the Mont Cenis and the St. Bernard, captured Pavia, and shut up 
Desiderius in a Frank monastery. The king of the Franks be- 
came king of the Lombards, and lord of all Italy, except the 
Venetian Islands and the southern extremity of Calabria, which 
remained subject to the Greeks. The German king and the Pope 
were now, in point of fact, dominant in the West. A woman, Irene, 
who had put out the eyes of her son that she herself might reign, 
sat on the throne at Constantinople. This was a fair pretext for 
throwing off the Byzantine rule, which afforded no protection to 



CHARLEMAGNE. 237 

Italians. Once more Charles visited Italy, to restore to the papal 
chair Leo III., who had been expelled by an adverse party, and, 
at Charles's camp at Paderborn, had implored his assistance. On 
Christmas Day in the year 800, during the celebration of mass in 
the old Basilica of St. Peter, Leo III. advanced to Charlemagne, 
and placed a crown on his head, saluting him, amid the acclama- 
tions of the people, as Roman emperor. 

Meaning of Charles's Coronation. — The coronation of Charle- 
magne made him the successor of Augustus and of Constantine. 
It was not imagined that the empire had ever ceased to be. The 
Byzantine emperors had been acknowledged in form as the rulers 
of the West : not even now was it conceived that the empire 
was divided. In the imagination and feeling of men, the creation 
of the Ceesars remained an indivisible unity. The new emperor 
in the West could therefore only be regarded as a rival and usurp- 
er by the Byzantine rulers ; but Charlemagne professed a friendly 
feeling, and addressed them as his brothers, — as if they and he 
were exercising a joint sovereignty. In point of fact, there had 
come to be a new center of wide-spread dominion in Western 
Europe. The diversity in beliefs and rites between Roman Chris- 
tianity and that of the Greeks had been growing. The popes and 
Charlemagne were united by mutual sympathy and common in- 
terests. The assumption by him of the imperial title at their 
instance, and by the call of the Roman people, was the natural 
issue of all the circumstances. 

Charles's System of Government. — Charlemagne showed him- 
self a statesman bent on organization and social improvement. 
There was a system of local officers. The border districts of the 
kingdom were made into Mai'ks, under Margraves or Mar- 
quesses, for defense against the outlying tribes. One of them, to 
the east of Bavaria, was afterwards called Austria. Dukes gov- 
erned provinces, some of which afterwards became kingdoms. 
Their power the emperor tried to reduce. The empire was di- 
vided into districts, in each of which a Count ( Graf) ruled, with 
inferior officers, either territorial or in cities. Bishops had large 
domains, and great privileges and immunities. The officers held 
their places at the king's pleasure : they became possessed of 
landed estates, and the tendency was, for the offices to become 
hereditary. 

The old German word Graf is of uncertain derivation, but means the same 
as count (from the Latin comes). Mark is a word found in all the Teutonic 
languages. From the signification of boundary, it came to be applied, like 
its synonym march, to a frontier district. A margrave (Mark-Graf) was a 
mark-count, or an officer ruling for the king in such a district. A viscount 
(vicecomes) was an officer subordinate to a count. Pfalz, meaning originally 
palace (from the Latin palatium), was the term for any one of the king's 
estates. The palsgrave [Pfalz-Graf) was first his representative in charge 



238 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

of one of these domains. The stallgrave (6'/'«//-Gr«/) corresponded to the con- 
stable {comes stabuli) in English and French. It signifies the ofificer in charge 
of the king's stables, the groom. He had a military command. A later 
designation of the same office is inarshal (from two old German words, one 
of which means a horse, as seen in our word mare, having the same etymology, 
and the other means a servant). 

Imperial deputies, or inissi, lay and ecclesiastical together, vis- 
ited all parts of the kingdom to examine and report as to their 
condition, to hold courts, and to redress wrongs. There were ap- 
peals from them to the imperial tribunal, over which the Palsgrave 
presided. Twice in the year great Assemblies were held of the 
chiefs and people, to give advice as to the framing of laws. The 
enactments of these assemblies are collected in the Capitularies 
of the Frank kings. In the Church, Charlemagne tried to secure 
order, which had sadly fallen away, and had given place to confu- 
sion and worldliness. He himself exercised high ecclesiastical pre- 
rogatives, especially after he became emperor. 

Learning and Culture. — One of the chief distinctions of Charlemagne 
is the encouragement which he gave to learning. In his own palace at 
Aachen {Aix), he collected scholars from different quarters. Of these the 
most eminent is Alcuiii, from the school of York in England. He was 
familiar with many of the Latin writers, and while at the head of the school 
in the palace, and later, when abbot of St. Martin in Tours, exerted a strong 
influence in promoting study. Charlemagne himself spoke Latin with facility, 
but not until late in life did he try to learn to write. It was his custom to 
be read to while he sat at meals. Augustine's City of God ■wzs one of the 
books of which he was fond. In the great sees and monasteries, schools were 
founded, the benefits of which were very soon felt. 

Charles's Personal Traits. — Charlemagne was seven feet in height, 
and of noble presence. His eyes were large and animated, and his voice 
clear, but not so strong as his frame would have led one to expect. His 
bearing was manly and dignified. He was exceedingly fond of riding, hunt- 
ing, and of swimming. Eginhard, his friend and biographer, says of him, 
" In all his undertakings and enterprises, there was nothing he shrank from 
because of the toil, and nothing that he feared because of the danger." He 
died, at the age of seventy, on Jan. 28, 814. He had built at Aix la Chapelle 
a stately church, the columns and marbles of which were brought from 
Ravenna and Rome. Beneath its floor, under the dome, was his tomb. 
There he was placed in a sitting posture, in his royal robes, with the crown 
on his head, and his horn, sword, and book of the Gospels on his knee. In 
this posture his majestic figure was found when his tomb was opened by 
Otto III., near the end of the tenth century. The marble chair in which the 
dead monarch sat is still in the cathedral sXAix: the other relics are at 
Vienna. The splendor of Charlemagne's reign made it a favorite theme 
of romance among the poets of Italy : a mass of poetic legends gathered 
about it. 

Extent of the Empire. — Charlemagne's empire comprised all 
Gaul, and Spain to the Ebro, all that was then Germany, and the 
greater part of Italy. Slavonic nations along the Elbe were his 
allies. Pannonia, Dacia, Istria, Liburnia, Dalmatia, — except the 
sea-coast towns, which were held by the Greeks, — were subject to 
him. He had numerous other allies and friends. Even Harun- 



CHARLEMAGNE. 239 

al-Rashid, the famous Caliph of Bagdad, held him in high honor. 
Among the most valued presents which were said to have come 
from the Caliph were an elephant, and a curious water-clock, which 
was so made, that, at the end of the hours, twelve horsemen came 
out of twelve windows, and closed up twelve other windows. This 
gift filled the inmates of the palace at Aix with wonder. 

Condition of the People. — The number of free Franks dimin- 
ished under Charlemagne. They were thinned out in the wars, or 
sunk into vassalage. The warnings and rebukes in the Capitula- 
ries, or body of laws, show that the upper clergy were often sen- 
sual and greedy of gain. The bishops would often lead in person 
their contingent of troops, until they were forbidden to do so by 
law. Nine-tenths of the population of Gaul were slaves. Charle- 
magne made Alcuiii the present of an estate on which there were 
twenty thousand slaves. Especially in times of scarcity, as in 805 
and 806, their lot was a miserable one. At such times, they fled 
in crowds to the monasteries. The social state was that of feud- 
alism " in all but the development of that independence in the 
greater lords, which was delayed by the strength of Karl, but 
fostered, at the same time, by his wars and his policy towards the 
higher clergy." 

Conversion of Germany : Boniface. — The most active mission- 
aries in the seventh and eighth centuries were from the British 
islands. At first they were from Ireland and Scotland. Coluni- 
ban, who died in 615, and his pupil Gallus, labored, not without 
success, among the Alemaruii. Gallus established himself as a 
hermit near Lake Constance. He founded the Abbey of St. Gall. 
The Saxon missionaries from England were still more effective. 
The most eminent of these was Winfrid, who received from 
Rome the name of Bonif actus (680-755). He converted the 
Hessians, and founded monasteries, among them the great 
monastery of Fiilda. There his disciple, Sturm, " through a long 
series of years, directed the energies of four thousand monks, by 
whose unsparing labors the wilderness was gradually reclaimed, 
and brought into a state of cultivation." Boniface had proved 
the impotence of the heathen gods by felling with the axe an 
aged oak at Geismar, which was held sacred by their worshipers. 
Among the Thuringians, Bavarians, and other tribes, he extir- 
pated paganism by peaceful means. He organized the German 
Church under the guidance of the popes, and, in 743, was made 
archbishop of Afentz, and primate. But his Christian ardor moved 
him to carry the gospel in person to the savage Frisians, by whom 
he was slain. He thus crowned his long career with martyrdom. 

Conversion of the Scandinavians. — The apostle of the Scan- 
dinavians was Ansgar (801-S65). The archbishopric of Ham- 
burg was founded for him by Louis the Pious, with the papal 



240 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

consent ; but, as Hamburg was soon plundered by pirates, he be- 
came bishop of Bremefi (849). In that region he preached with 
success. Two visits he made to Sweden, the first with Httle per- 
manent result; but, at the second visit (855), the new faith was 
tolerated, and took root. The triumph of the religion of the cross, 
which Ansgar had planted in Denmark, was secured there when 
Canute became king of England. The first Christian king in 
Sweden was Olaf Schooskonig (1008). In Norway, Christianity 
was much resisted ; but when Olaf the Thick, who was a devoted 
adherent of the Christian faith, had perished in battle (1033), his 
people, who held him in honor, fell in with the church arrange- 
ments which he had ordained ; and he became St. Olaf, the patron 
saint of Norway. 

The Benedictines. — Benedict, born at Nursia, in Umbria, in 
480, the founder of the monastery of Monte Cassino, north-west 
of Naples, was the most influential agent in organizing monasti- 
cism in Western Europe. He was too wise to adopt the extreme 
asceticism that had often prevailed in the East, and his judicious 
regulations combined manual labor with study and devotion. 
They not only came to be the law for the multitude of monas- 
teries of his own order, but also served as the general pattern, on 
the basis of which numerous other orders in later times were con- 
stituted. His societies of monks were at first made up of laics, but 
afterwards of priests. The three vows of the monk were chastity, 
including abstinence from marriage ; poverty, or the renunciation 
of personal possessions ; and obedience to superiors. The Bene- 
dictine cloisters long continued to be asylums for the distressed, 
schools of education for the clergy, and teachers of agriculture 
and the useful arts to the people in the regions where they were 
planted. Their abbots rose to great dignity and influence, and 
stood on a level with the highest ecclesiastics. 



CHAPTER II. 

DISSOLUTION OF CHARLEMAG-NE'S EMPIRE: RISE OF THE 
KINGDOMS OF FRANCE, GERMANY, AND ITALY. 

Divisions in the Empire. — The influence of Charlemagne was 
permanent ; not so his empire. It had one religion and one 
government, but it was discordant in language and in laws. The 
Gallo-Romans and the Italians spoke the Romance language, with 
variations of dialect. The Germans used the Teutonic tongue. 
Charlemagne left to the Lombards, to the Saxons, and to other 
peoples, their own special laws. The great bond of unity had been 







X^~ 






Sy -^^^ 




•^2^ 



TREATY OF VERDUN. 241 

the force of his own character and the vigor of his administration. 
His death was, therefore, the signal for confusion and division. 
The tendency to dismemberment was aided by the ambition of the 
princes of the imperial family. The Austrasian Franks, to whom 
Charlemagne belonged, craved unity. The Gallo-Romajis in the 
West, the Teutons in the East, aspired after independence. 

Louis the Pious (814-840), Charlemagne's youngest son, — who, 
in consequence of the death of his elder brothers, was the sole 
successor of his father, — lacked the energy requisite for so diffi- 
cult a place. He was better adapted to a cloister than to a throne. 
He had been crowned at Aix before his father's death ; but he 
consented to be crowned anew by Pope Stephen IV. at Rheims, in 
816. His troubles began with a premature division of his states 
between his sons, Lotha?', Pipin, and Louis. His nephew, Bern- 
hard, who was to reign in Italy in subordination to his uncle, re- 
belled, but was captured and killed (818). In order to provide 
for his son Charles the Bald, whose va.o\hQx Judith he had married 
for his second wife, he made a new division in 829. The elder 
sons at once revolted against their father, and Jtidith and her son 
were shut up in a cloister (830). Lotiis the son repented, the 
Saxons and East Franks supported the emperor, and he was re- 
stored. In 833 he took away Aquitaine from Pipin, and gave it 
to Charles. The rebeUious sons again rose up against him. In 
company with Pope Gregory IV., who joined them, they took their 
father prisoner on the plains of Alsace, his troops having deserted 
him. The place was long known as the " Field of Lies." He was 
compelled by the bishops to confess his sins in the cathedral at 
Soissons, reading the list aloud. Once more Louis was released, 
and forgave his sons ; but partition after partition of territory, with 
continued discord, followed until his death. The quarrels of his 
surviving sons, Lothar, Louis the German, and Charles the Bald, 
brought on, in 841, the great battle of Fontenailles. The contest 
was occasioned by the ambition of Lothar, the eldest, who claimed 
for himself the whole imperial inheritance. There was great car- 
nage, and Lothar was defeated. The bishops present saw in the 
result a verdict of God in favor of his two adversaries. The result 
was the Treaty of Verditn for the division of the empire. 

Terms of the Treaty of Verdun. — Louis the German took the 
Eastern and German Franks, and Charles the Bald the Western 
and Latinized Franks. Lothar, who retained the imperial title, 
received the middle portion of the Frank territory, including Italy 
and a long, narrow strip of territory between the dommions of his 
brothers, and extending to the North Sea. This land took later 
the name of Lotharingia, or Lorraine. It always had the char- 
acter of a border-land. While Louis'' s share comprised only Ger- 
man-speaking peoples, Charles's kingdom was made up almost 



242 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

exclusively of Gallo-Roman inhabitants ; while under Lothar the 
two races were mingled. This division marks the birth of the Ger- 
man and French nations as such. The German-speaking peoples in 
the East, who were affiliated in language, customs, and spirit, more 
and more grew together into a nation.. In like manner, the sub- 
jects of the Western kingdom more and more were resolved into 
a Franco-Roman nationality. Lothar ruled at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
and was styled emperor ; but each of the other kingdoms was 
independent, and the empire of Charlemagne was dissolved. Only 
for a short time, under Charles the Fat (881-887), nearly the 
whole monarchy of Charlemagne was united under one scepter. 
When he was deposed it was again broken in pieces ; and four 
distinct kingdoms emerged, — those of the Eastern and Western 
Franks, " the forerunners of Germany and France," and the king- 
doms of Italy and of Burgundy, in South-eastern Gaul, which 
were sometimes united and sometimes separate. Lotharingia was 
attached now to the Eastern and now to the Western Frank king- 
dom. In theory there was not a severance, but a sharing, of the 
common possession which had been the object of contention. 

Eastern Carlovingians. — Charles the Fat was a weak and 
sluggish prince. He offered no effectual resistance to the destruc- 
tive ravages of the Normans, or Scandinavian Northmen. He was 
deposed in 887, and died in the following year on an island in 
the Lake of Constance. His successor, the grandson of Louis the 
Germa7i, Arnulf, duke of Carinthia, became king of the Germans, 
(887-899) and emperor; and, after his short reign, the line of 
Louis died out in Louis the Child, the weak son of Arm/If (900- 
911). The house of Charlemagne survived only among the West- 
ern Franks. 

During the reign of Louis the Child, Hatto (I.), archbishop of Mentz 
and primate of Germany, was regent and guardian of the king. He was a 
bold defender of the unity of the empire. He was charged, truly or falsely, 
with taking the life of Adalbert, a Frank nobleman whom he had enticed into 
his castle. There was a popular tradition that the devil seized Hatto's corpse, 
and threw it into the crater of Mount yEtna. The mistake is often made of 
connecting the popular legend of the " Mouse-tower " at Bingeii on the 
Rhine, with him. It was told of a later Hatto (Hatto 11.), who was likewise 
archbishop of Mentz (968). He was charged with shutting up the poor in 
a barn, in a time of famine, and of burning them there. As the story runs, 
he called them " rats who ate the corn." Numberless mice swam to the 
tower which he had built in the midst of the stream, and devoured him. 
Southey has put the tale into a ballad, — " God's Judgment on a Wicked 
Bishop." 

Kingdom of France. — In 841 Rouen fell into the hands of the 
Normans, and Paris lay open to their attacks. In 861 Charles 
the Bald invested a brave soldier, Robert the Strong, whose de- 
scent is not known, with the county of Paris, that he might resist 
the invaders. He held the country between the Seine and the 



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KINGDOM OF FRANCE. 243 

Loire, under the name of the Duchy of France. The other 
Francia, east of the Rhine, continued to be an important part of 
Germany, the district called Franconia. Robert was the great- 
grandfather of Hugh Capet, the founder of the kingdom of France. 
Under the imbecile Charles the Fat, the audacious Northmen (885- 
886) laid siege to Paris. It was Odo, or Fudes, count of Paris, 
who led the citizens in their heroic and successful resistance. Him 
the nobles of France chose to be their king. His family were 
called "Dukes of the French." Their duchy — Western or Latin 
Francia — was the strongest state north of the Loire. The feudal 
lords were growing mightier, and the imperial or royal power was 
becoming weaker. After Odo of Paris was elected to the Western 
kingdom, there followed a period of about a hundred years during 
which there was a king sometimes from his house and sometimes 
from the family of the Carlovingians. The latter still spoke Ger- 
man, and, when they had the power, reigned at Laon in the north- 
eastern corner of the kingdom. Odo ruled from 2>^^ until 898. 
He had to leave the southern part of France independent. During 
the last five years of his life he was obliged to contend with Charles 
the Simple (893-929), who was elected king by the Carlovingian 
party of the north. The most noted of the Carlovingian kings at 
Lao?i was Louis "from beyond seas" (936-954), Charles's son, 
who had been carried to England for safety. His reign was a 
constant struggle with Hugh the Great, duke of the French, the 
nephew of King Odo. Hugh would not accept the crown himself. 
On the death of Louis V. (986-987), the direct line of Charle- 
'magne became extinct. The only Carlovingian heir was his uncle, 
Charles, duke of Lorraine. His claim the barons would not 
recognize, but elected Hugh Capet, duke of France, to be king, 
who, on the ist (or the 3d) of July, 987, was solemnly crowned in 
the cathedral of Noyon, by the archbishop of Rheims. Just at 
this juncture, when the contest was between the dukes of the 
French and Charles of Lorraine, the Carlovingian claimant to 
the sovereignty, the adhesion and support of Duke Richard of 
Normandy (943-996) was of decisive effect. The Normans had 
been on the side of Laon ; now they turned the scale in favor of 
the elevation of the Duke of France. The German party at Laon 
could not withstand the combined power of Rouen and Paris. 
Thus with LIugh Capet, the founder of the Capetian line, the king- 
dom of France began, having Paiis for its capital ; and the name 
of France came gradually to be applied to the greater part of 
Gaul. But when Hugh Capet became king, the great feudal states 
were almost independent of the royal control. Eight were above 
the rest in power and extent, " The counts of Flatiders, Cham- 
pagne, and Vermandois, and the dukes of Normandy, Brittany, 
Burgundy, and Aquitaine, regarded themselves as the new king's 



2zpl- MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

peers or equals." Lorraine, Aries, zxAFranche Cotnte — parts of 
modern France — " held of the emperor, and were, in fact, Ger- 
man." Hugh Capefs dukedom was divided by the Seine. He 
was lay abbot of St. Denis, the most important church in France. 

The German Kingdom. — With the death of Louis the Child 
(911) the German branch of the Carlovingian line was extinguished. 
The Germans had to choose a king from another family. Germany, 
like France, was now composed of great fiefs. But there were two 
parties, differing from one another in their character and manners. 
The one consisted of the older Alemannic and Austrasian unions, 
where the traces of Roman influence continued, where the large 
cities were situated, and the principal sees. Here were formed 
the duchies of Swabia and Bavaria, and Franconia (Austrasian 
France). To the other, consisting chiefly of the duchy of Sax- 
ony, were attached Thuringia and a part of Frisia. In France 
the royal power, at the start, was so weak, that, not being dreaded, 
it was suffered to grow. In Germany the royal power was so strong 
that there was a constant effort to reduce it. Hence in France 
the result was centralization ; in Germany the tendency was to 
division. In France the long continuance of the family of Hugh 
Capet made the monarchy hereditary. In Germany the frequent 
changes of dynasty helped to make it elective. 

Conrad I. — When Louis died, Conrad of Frsniconia. (911-918) 
was chosen king by the clerical and secular nobles of the five 
duchies, in which the counts elevated themselves to the rank of 
dukes, — Franconia, Saxony, Lorraine, Swabia, and Bavaria. Ger- 
many thus became an elective kingdom ; but since, as a rule, the 
sovereignty was continued in one family, the electoral principle 
was qualified by an hereditary element. Conrad began the struggle 
against the great feudatories, which went on through the Middle Ages. 
The dukes always chafed under the rule of a king ; yet, for the glory 
of the nation and for their own safety against attacks from abroad, 
they were anxious to preserve it from extinction. The Hungaria?is, 
to whom Louis the Child had consented to pay tribute, renewed 
their incursions. They marched in force as far as Bremen. 
Conrad had wished to reduce the power of Saxony, and to detach 
from it Thuringia. He was constantly at war with his own subjects. 
Yet on his death-bed he showed his disinterested regard to the 
interests of the kingdom. He called to him his brother Eberhard, 
and charged him to carry his crown and crown jewels to his enemy 
Henry, duke of the Saxons, who was most capable of defending 
the country against the Hungarian invaders. 

Italy. — After the empire of Chai'les the Fat was broken up, a 
strong anti-German feeling was manifest in Italy. The people 
wanted the king of Italy, and, if possible, the emperor of the 
Romans, to be of their own nation. But they could not agree : 



ITALY: THE PAPACY. 245 

there was a violent contest between the supporters of Berengar 
of Friuh and the supporters of Guido of Spoleto. Amulf czxviS. 
twice into Italy to quell the disturbance, and on his second visit, 
in 896, was crowned emperor. Civil war soon broke out again. 
Within twenty years the crown had been given to five different 
aspirants. They were Germans, or were Italians only in name. 
Berengar I. (888-924) was crowned emperor by the Pope, but 
had to fight against a competitor, Rudolph, king of Burgundy, 
whom the turbulent nobles set up in his place. Berengar was 
finally defeated and assassinated. His grandson, Berengar II. (of 
Ivrea) (950-961), had to fly to Germany (943) to escape a com- 
petitor for the throne, Hugh, count of Provence, brother of Er- 
mengarde, Berengar's step-mother, to whom she had given the 
crown. His relations with Otto I. (the Great) led to very impor- 
tant consequences, to be narrated hereafter. 

State of Learning in the Tenth Century. — Under Charles the 
Bald, there were not wanting signs of intellectual activity, yohn Scotus Eri- 
gena, — or John Scot, Erinborn, — who was at the head of his palace-school, 
was an acute philosopher, who, in his speculations in the vein of New Pla- 
tonism, tended to pantheistic doctrine. His opinions were condemned at 
the -instance of Hmcmar, the eminent archbishop of Rheims. But after 
the deposition of Charles the Fat (887), there followed a period of darkness 
throughout the West. The universal political disorder was enough to ac- 
count for this prevalent ignorance. But, in addition, the Latin language 
ceased to be spoken by the people, while the new vernacular tongues were 
not reduced to writing. Latin could only be learned in the schools ; and these 
fell more and more into decay, in the confusion of the times. The mental 
stimulus which the study of the Latin had communicated, there was nothing, 
as yet, in the new languages to replace. 

The Papacy in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries. — While Italy 
was under the rule oi Justinian and his successors, the popes were 
subject to the tyranny of the Eastern emperors. After the Lombard 
conquest, their position, difficult as it was on account of the small 
protection afforded them from Constantinople, was favorable to 
the growth of their influence and authority. By their connection 
with Pipin and Charkmagtie, they were recognized as having a 
spiritual headship, the counterpart of the secular supremacy of 
the emperor. The election of the Pope was to be sanctioned by the 
emperor, and that of the emperor by the Pope. But Charlemagne 
was supreme ruler over all classes and persons in Italy, as in his 
own immediate dominions. In the disorder that ensued upon his 
death, the imperial authority in all directions was reduced. The 
Frank bishops were frequently appealed to as umpires among the 
contending Carolingian princes. The growth of the power of 
the great bishops carried in it the exaltation of the highest bishop 
of all, the Roman pontiff. A pallium, or mantle, was sent by the 
Pope to all archbishops on their accession, and was considered to 
be a badge of the papal authority. In the earlier part of the 



246 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

ninth century, there appeared what are called the pseudo-Isidorian 
decretals, consisting of forged ecclesiastical documents purporting 
to belong to the early Christian centuries, which afforded a sanc- 
tion to the highest claims of the chief rulers of the Church. These 
are universally known to be an invention ; but, in that uncritical 
day, this was not suspected. They contained not much in behalf 
of hierarchical claims which had not, at one time or another, been 
actually asserted and maintained. In the spirit of the decretals 
Pope Nicholas I. (858-867) acted, when this energetic pontiff 
overruled the iniquitous decision of two German synods, and 
obliged Lothar, king of Lotharingia, to take back his lawful wife, 
Theiitberga, whom he had divorced out of regard to a mistress, 
Waldrada. In the tenth century (904-96_2), when Italy, in the 
absence of imperial restraint, was torn by violent factions, the 
Papacy was for half a century ^disposed of by the Tuscan party, 
and especially by two depraved women belonging to it, Theodora, 
and her daughter J/dzr/a (ox Marozia). The scandals belonging 
to this dismal period in the history of the papal institution are to 
be ascribed to the anarchy prevailing in Italy, and to the vileness 
of the individuals who usurped power at Rome. 



CHAPTER in. 

INVASIONS OF THE NORTHMEN AND OTHERS: THE 
FEUDAL SYSTEM. 

Incursions of the Northmen. — The Scandinavians, or North- 
men, were a Teutonic people, by whom were gradually formed the 
kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Their incursions, 
prior to Charlemagne, were towards the Rhine, but at length as- 
sumed more the character of piracy. They coasted along the 
shores in their little fleets, and lay in wait for their enemies in 
creeks and bays ; whence they were called vikings, or children of 
the bays. By degrees they ventured out farther on the sea, and 
became bolder in their depredations. They sent their light ves- 
sels along the rivers of France, and established themselves in bands 
of five or six hundred at convenient stations, whence they sallied 
out to plunder the neighboring cities and country places. They 
did not cause, but they hastened, the fall of the Frank Empire. 
In 841 they burned Rouen; in 843 they plundered Nantes, 
Saintes, and Bordeaux. Hastings, a famous leader of these hardy 
sea-robbers, sailed along the coast of the Spanish peninsula, took 
Lisbon and pillaged it, and burned Seville. Making a descent 
upon Tuscany, he captured, by stratagem, and plundered the city 



THE NORTHMEN. 247 

of Luna, which he at first mistook for Rome. In 853 the daring 
rovers captured Tours, and burned the Abbey of St. Martin ; and, 
three years later, they appeared at Orleans. In 85 7 they burned 
the churches of Paris, and carried away as captive the abbot of 
St. Denis. As pagans they had no scruple about attacking churches 
and abbeys, to which fugitives resorted for safety and for the hid- 
ing of their treasures. Robert the Strong fell in fighting these 
marauders (866). Their devastations continued down to the year 
911, in the reign of Charles the Simple ; then the same arrange- 
ment was made which the Romans had adopted in relation to the 
Germanic invaders. By the advice of his nobles, Charles decided 
to abandon to the Northmen, territory where they could settle, and 
which they could cultivate as their own. Rolf, or Rollo, one of 
their most formidable chiefs, accepted the offer ; and the North- 
men established themselves (911) in the district known afterwards 
as Normandy. Rollo received baptism, wore the title of duke, 
and thus became the liege of King Charles, who reigned at Laon, 
and whom he loyally served. Later the Normans joined hands 
with ducal France, and helped Paris to throw off its dependence 
on royal France and the house of Charlemagne which had ruled 
at Zaon. It was by Norman help that the duchy of France was 
raised to the rank of a kingdom, and Hugh Capet, in the room of 
being a vassal of kings of German lineage, became the founder 
of French sovereigns. Under the Normans, tillage flourished ; and 
the feudal system was established with greater regularity than else- 
where. 

The Danes in England. — When, in 827, Egbert, the king of 
Wessex, united all the Saxons in England under his rule, the Dan- 
ish attacks had already begun. In his later years these ravages 
increased. Alfred (871-901) was reduced to such straits in 878, 
that, with a few followers, he hid himself among the swamps and 
woods of Somersetshire. It was then, according to the legend, 
that he was scolded by the woman, who, not knowing him, had 
set him to watch her cakes, but found that he, absorbed in other 
thoughts, had allowed them to burn. Later, Alfred gained advan- 
tages over the Danes ; but, in the treaty that was made with them, 
they received, as vassals of the West Saxon king. East Anglia, 
and part of Essex and Mercia. Already they had a lodgment in 
Northumberland, so that the larger part of England had fallen 
into Danish hands. The names of towns ending in by, as Wliitby, 
are of Danish origin. Alfred compiled a body of laws called 
dooms, founded monasteries, and fostered learning. He himself 
translated many books from the Latin. His bravery in conflict 
with the Danes enabled him to spend his last years in quiet. 
Athelstan, the grandson of Alfred (925-940), was victorious over 
the Danes, and over the Scotch and Welsh of the North. Under 



248 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Edgar (959-975), the power of England was at its height. He 
kept up a strong fleet ; but, in the time of ^thelred II. (the 
Unready), the Danish invasions were renewed. He and his bad 
advisers adopted the practice of buying off the invaders at a large 
price. In 994 Swegen invaded the country. He had been bap- 
tized, but had gone back to heathenism. In 1013 England was 
completely conquered by him. ^thelred fled to Duke Richard 
the Good oi Normandy. 

Canute. — The son of ^thelred, Edmimd, surnamed Ironside, 
after the death of Swegen, kept up the war with his son Cnut, or 
Canute. After fighting six pitched battles with him, Edmund con- 
sented to divide the kingdom with him ; but in the same year 
(1016) the English king died. Canute (1017-1035) now became 
king of all England. He had professed Christianity, and unexpect- 
edly proved himself, after his accession, to be a good ruler. One 
of the legends about him is, that he once had a seat placed for him- 
self by the seashore, and ordered the rising tide not to dare to wet 
his feet. Not being obeyed by the dashing waves, he said, " Let 
all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for 
there is none worthy of the name but He whom heaven, earth, and 
sea obey by eternal laws." After that he never wore his crown, 
but left it on the image of Jesus on the cross. Canute inherited 
the crown of Denmark, and won Nortejay and part oi Sweden; so 
that he was the most powerful prince of his time. His sons, how- 
ever, did not rule well ; and in 1042 the English chose for king one 
of their own people, Edward, called the Confessor, the son of 
/Ethelred. In the time of Canute, the power of the Danes, and 
of the Northmen generally, was at its height. Denmark, Norway, 
Sweden, and England were ruled by them ; and Scandinavian 
princes by descent governed in Normandy and in Russia. Al- 
though a most vigorous race, the Northmen showed a wonderful 
facility in adopting the language and manners of the people among 
whom they settled. The effect of their migrations was to diminish 
the strength and importance of their native countries which they 
had left. 

Other Settlements of Northmen. — The Northmen made many 
other voyages which have not yet been mentioned. As early as 
852 there was a Scandinavian king in Dublin. They early con- 
quered the Shetland Isles, the Orkneys, and the Hebrides. On the 
northern coast of Scotland, they founded the kingdom of Caith- 
ness, which they held to the end of the twelfth century. Iceland 
was discovered by the Northmen, and was settled by them in 874. 
About the same time Greenland was discovered, and towards the 
end of the tenth century a colony was planted there. This led 
to the discovery of the mainland of America, and to the occu- 
pation, for a time, of Finland, which is supposed to have been 



THE NORTHMEN. 249 

the coast of New England. In Russia, where the Northmen 
were called Varangians, Rurik, one of their leaderS; occupied 
Novgoi'od in 862, and founded a line of sovereigns, which con- 
tinued until 1598. 

Incursions of Saracens. — The Saracens were marauders in 
Italy, as the Northmen were in France. From Cairoan (in Tunis), 
as we have seen, they sent out their piratical fleets, which ravaged 
Malta, Sicily, and other islands of the Mediterranean. These 
corsairs, checked for the moment by the fleets of Charlemagne, 
afterwards began anew their conquests. From Sicily, of which 
they made themselves masters in 831, they passed over to the 
Italian mainland. Among their deeds are included the burning of 
Ostia, Civita Vecchia, and the wealthy abbey of Monte Cassino. 
They landed on the shores of Provence, established a military 
colony there, pillaged Aries and Marseilles, and continued their 
depredations in Southern France and Switzerland. 

Incursions of Hungarians. — The Alagyars, called by the Greeks 
Hungarians, a warlike people of the Turanian group of nations, 
crossed the Carpathian Mountains about 889. They overran the 
whole of Hungary and Transylvania. In 900, in the course of 
their predatory invasions, they penetrated into Bavaria, and the 
king of Germany paid them tribute. They carried their incur- 
sions into Lombardy and into Southern Italy. They even 
crossed the Rhine, and devastated Alsace, Lorraine, and Bur- 
gundy. Such terror did they excite that their name remained 
in France a synonym of detestable ferocity. 

Character of the Later Invasions. — The incursions in the ninth 
century differed from the great Germanic invasions which had 
subverted the Roman Empire. The Northmen and the Saracens 
moved in small bands, whose main object was plunder, and not 
either permanent conquest, or, as was the aim of the Arabians, 
the spread of a religion by the sword. The Hungarians alone 
established themselves in the valley of the Theiss and the Danube, 
after the manner of the Franks, the Burgundians, and the Goths ; 
and there they remained. The great effect of the last invasion was 
to accelerate the breaking up of political unity, and the introduc- 
tion of feudal organization, or the preponderance of local rule as 
opposed to centralized power. 

THE NORTHMEN IN ENGLAND AND ITALY. 

Later than the events narrated above, there were two great 
achievements of the Northmen, which it is most convenient to 
describe here, although they occurred in the eleventh century. 
They are the conquest of England, and the founding of the king- 
dom of Naples and Sicily. 



250 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY, 

I. THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND. 

The Norman Invasion. — The duchy of Normandy had become 
very strong and prosperous, and, under the French-speaking North- 
men, or Normans, had grown to be one of the principal states in 
Western Europe. Edward, king of England, surnamed the Con- 
fessor, or Saint (1042-1066) had been brought up in Normandy, 
and favored his own Norman friends by lavish gifts of honors and 
offices. The party opposed to the foreigners was led by Godwin, 
earl of the West Saxons. After being once banished, he returned 
in arms; and Norman knights and priests were glad to escape 
from the country. Edward's wife was Edith, daughter of Godwin. 
They had no children ; and on his death-bed he recommended 
that Earl Harold, the son of Godwin, should be his successor. 
The Normans claimed that he had promised that their duke, 
William, should reign after him. It was said that Harold himself, 
on a visit to William, had, either willingly or unwillingly, sworn to 
give him his support. Edward, who was devout in his ways, 
though a negligent ruler, was buried in the monastery called West- 
minster, which he had built, and which was the precursor of the 
magnificent church bearing the same name that was built after- 
wards by King Henry HI. Harold was now crowned. Duke 
William, full of wrath, appealed to the sword ; and, under the 
influence of the archdeacon Hildebrand, Pope Alexander H. took 
his side, and sanctioned his enterprise of conquest. At the same 
time the north of England was invaded by the king of the Nor- 
wegians, a man of gigantic stature, named Hardrada. The Nor- 
man invaders landed without resistance on the shore of Sussex, 
on the 28th of September, 1066, and occupied Hastings. Harold 
encamped on the heights of Senlac. On the 14th of October 
the great battle took place in which the Normans were completely 
victorious. The English stood on a hill in a compact mass, with 
their shields in front and a palisade before them. They repulsed 
the Norman charges. But the Normans pretended to retreat. 
This moved the Saxons to break their array in order to pursue. 
The Normans then turned back, and rushed through the palisade 
in a fierce onset. An arrow pierced the eye of Harold, and he 
was cut to pieces by four French knights. The Norman duke, 
William the Conqueror, was crowned king on Christmas Day ; but 
it was four years before he overcame all resistance, and got full 
control over the country. The largest estates and principal offices 
in England he allotted to Normans and other foreigners. The 
crown of William was handed down to his descendants, and 
gradually the conquerors and the conquered became mingled to- 
gether as one people. 



THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 25 1 

EFFECT OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 

Character of the Saxons. — The Saxons at the time of the 
Conquest were a strong and hardy race, hospitable, and fond of 
good cheer, which was apt to run into gluttony and revels. Their 
dwellings were poor, compared with those of the better class of 
Normans. They were enthusiastic in out-door sports, such as 
wrestling and hunting. They fought on foot, armed with the 
shield and axe. The common soldier, however, often had no bet- 
ter weapon than a fork or a sharpened stick. The ordeals in 
vogue, as a test o^" guilt and innocence when one was accused of a 
crime, were, plunging the arm into boihng water, or holding a hot 
iron in the hand for three paces. Londott was fast growing to be 
the chief town, and eclipsing Winchester, the old Saxon capital. 
A king like Alfred, and scholars like Bede and Alaiin, not to speak 
of old chronicles and ballads, show that literature was valued ; but 
the Danish invasions in Northumberland, where schools and letters 
had flourished, did much to blight the beginnings of literary progress. 

The Norman Spirit and Influence. — The tapestry at Bayeux 
represents in a series of pictures the course of the Norman con- 
quest. There we see the costume of the combatants. The Nor- 
man gentlemen were mounted, and fought with lance and sword. 
Of their bravery and miUtary skill, their success affords abundant 
proof Although the Normans were victors and masters in Eng- 
land, not only was the conquest gradual, but the result of it was 
the amalgamation of the one people with the other. The very 
title of conqueror, attached to William, was a legal term {conqucss- 
tor) , and meant puixhaser or acquirer. There was an observance 
of legal forms in the establishment and administration of his gov- 
ernment. The folkland, or the public land, was appropriated by 
him, and became crown-land. So all the land of the English was 
considered to be forfeited, and estates were given out liberally to 
Norman gentlemen. The nobility became mainly Norman, and 
the same was true of the ecclesiastics and other great officers. All 
the land was held as a grant from the king. In 1085 the making 
of Dojnesday was decreed, which was a complete statistical survey 
of all the estates and property in England. The object was to 
furnish a basis for taxation. The Domesday Book is one of the 
most curious and valuable monuments of English history. Among 
the changes in law made by William was the introduction of the 
Norman wager of battle, or the duel, by the side of the Saxon 
methods of ordeal described above. In most of the changes, 
there was not so much an uprooting as a great transformation of 
former rules and customs. 

England and the Continent. — One of the most important re- 
sults of the Norman Conquest was the bringing of England into 



252 MEDI/EVAL HISTORY. 

much more intimate relations with the continent. The horizon of 
English thought and life was widened. One incidental conse- 
quence was the closer connection of the English Church with the 
Papacy. Foreign ecclesiastics, some of them men of eminence 
and of learning, were brought in. It was this connection with the 
continent that led England to take so important a part in the Cru- 
sades. 

The Norman Government. — As regards feudalism, one vital 
feature of it — the holding of land by a military tenure, or on 
condition of military service — was reduced to a system by the 
conquest. But William took care not to be overshadowed or 
endangered by his great vassals. He levied taxes on all, and 
maintained the place of lord of all his subjects. He was king of 
the English, and sovereign lord of the Norman nobles. He sum- 
moned to the Witan, or Great Assembly, those whom he chose to 
call. This summons, and the right to receive it, became the foun- 
dation of the Peerage. Out of the old Saxon Witan, there grew in 
this way the House of Lords. The lower orders, when summoned at 
all, were summoned in a mass ; afterwards we shall find that they 
were called by representatives ; and, in the end, when the priv- 
ilege of appearing in this way was converted into a right, the House 
of Com??ions came into being. In like manner, the King's Court 
gradually came to be, in the room of the Assembly itself, a judicial 
and governing Committee of the Assembly. From this body of 
the king's immediate counselors emerged in time the Privy Coun- 
cil and the Courts of Law. Out of the Privy Council grew, in 
modern times, the Cabijiet, composed of what are really " those 
privy councilors who are specially summoned." Committees of the 
National Assembly, in the course of Enghsh history, acquired 
" separate being and separate powers, as the legislative, judicial, 
and executive branches of the government." Thus the English 
Constitution is the product of a steady growth. 

Mingling of Blood and Languages. — A multitude of Normans 
emigrated into England, especially to London. The Normans be- 
came Englishmen, as a natural consequence. But they affected 
the spirit and manners of the people by whom they were absorbed. 
By opening avenues for French influence, chivalry, with its pecu- 
liar ideas and ways, was brought into England. But it must never 
be forgotten that the Normans were kinsfolk of the Saxons. Both 
conquerors and conquered were Teutons. The conquest was very 
different, in this particular, from what the conquest of Germany by 
France, or of France by Germany, would be. The French lan- 
guage which the Normans spoke had been acquired by them in 
their adopted home across the channel. To this source the Latin 
element, or words of Latin etymology, in our English tongue is 
mainly due. The loss of the old Saxon inflections is another 



THE NORMANS. 253 

marked change ; but this is not due, to so large an extent, solely to 
the influence of Norman speech. But the English language con- 
tinued to be essentially Teutonic in its structure. For a long 
time the two tongues lived side by side. At the end of the twelfth 
century, if French was the language of polite intercourse, English 
was the language of common conversation and of popular writings. 
Learned men spoke, or could speak, and they wrote, in Latin. 

Norman Buildings. — The Normans built the cathedrals and 
castles. Down to the eleventh century, the RoDianesque, or "round- 
arched " architecture, derived from Italy, had been the one preva- 
lent style in Western Europe, Li the modification of it, called the 
Norman style, we find the round arch associated with massive 
piers and narrow windows. Durham cathedral is an example of 
the Norman Romanesque type of building. The Norman con- 
querors covered England with castles, of which the White Tower 
of London, built by William, is a noted sj^ecimen. Sometimes 
they were square, and sometimes polygonal ; but, except in the 
palaces of the kings, they afforded little room for artistic beauty 
of form or decoration. They were erected as fortresses, and were 
regarded by the people with execration as strongholds of oppres- 
sion. 

II. THE NORMANS IN ITALY AND SICILY. 

The Norman Kingdom of Naples and Sicily. — Early in the 
eleventh century, knights from Normandy wandered into Southern 
Italy, and gave their aid to different states in battle against the 
Greeks and Saracens. In 1027 the ruler of Naples gave them a 
fertile district, where they built the city of Aversa. By the reports 
of their victories and good fortune, troops of pilgrims and warriors 
were attracted to join them. The valiant sons of the old count, 
Tancred of Hauteville, were among the number. They supported 
the Greek viceroy in an attack on the Arabs in Sicily ; but, on 
his failing duly to reward them, they turned against him, and con- 
quered Apulia for themselves. Under Robert Guiscard (1057- 
1085), they made themselves masters of all Southern Italy. They 
had already defeated Pope Leo IX. at Civitella, and received from 
him as fiefs their present and anticipated conquests in Apulia, Cala- 
bria, and Sicily. Twelve years after, Robert, with the help of his 
brother Roger, wrested Sicily, with its capital, Palei-mo, from the 
Saracens, who were divided among themselves (1072). The sea- 
ports of Otranto and Bari were also taken by Robert. He even 
entered on the grand scheme of conquering the Byzantine Empire, 
but his death frustrated this endeavor. His nephew Roger II. 
(1130-1154) took the remaining possessions of the Greeks in 
Southern Italy and Sicily, united them in the kingdom of Naples 
and Sicily, and received from the Pope the title of king. In this 



254 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

kingdom the feudal system was established, and trade and in- 
dustry flourished. In culture and prosperity it surpassed all the 
other Italian communities. At Salerno was a famous school of 
medicine and natural science ; at Aitialfi and Naples were schools 
of law. But the Norman nobility was corrupted and enervated by 
the luxury of the South, and by the influence of Mohammedan 
customs, and modes of thought. During fifty-six years Roger and 
his two successors, William the Bad (1154-1166) and IVilliam 
the Good (1166-1189), ruled this flourishing kingdom, which then 
fell by inheritance to the Uohenstaufen German princes. On the 
mainland and in Sicily, numerous stately buildings and ruined 
castles and towers point back to the romantic period of Norman 
rule. 

Norman Traits. — It is a remarkable fact, that the Normans, 
although so distinguished as rovers and conquerors, have vanished 
from the face of the earth. They were lost in the kingdoms which 
they founded. They adopted the languages of the nations which 
they subdued. But while in England they were merged in the 
Enghsh, and modified the national character, this effect was not 
produced in Italy and Sicily. In Sicily they found Greek-speak- 
ing Christians and Arabic-speaking Mussulmans ; and Italians came 
into the island in the track of the conquerors. The Normans 
did not find there a nation as in England ; and they created not a 
nation, but a kingdom of a composite sort, beneficent while it lasted, 
but leaving no permanent traces behind. " The Normans in Sicily," 
says Mr. Freeman, " so far as they did not die out, were merged, 
not in a Sicilian nation, for that did not exist, but in Ihe common 
mass of settlers of Latin speech and rite, as distinguished from the 
older inhabitants, Greek and Saracen." Independent, enterpris- 
ing, impatient of restraint, gifted with a rare imitative power which 
imparted a pecuHar tinge and a peculiar grace to whatever they 
adopted from others, they lacked originality, and the power to 
maintain their own distinctive type of character and of speech. 

Mr. Freeman has eloquently described the spread of the Normans, " the 
Saracens of Christendom," in all corners of the world. They fought in 
the East against the Turks. " North, south, east, the Norman lances were 
lifted." The Norman "ransacked Europe for scholars, poets, theologians, 
and artists. At Rouen, at Palermo, and at Winchester he welcomed merit 
in men of every race and every language." " And yet that race, as a race, 
has vanished."' "The Scottish Bruce "or the Irish Geraldine passed from 
Scandinavia to Gaul, from Gaul to England, from England to his own por- 
tion of our islands ; but at each migration, he ceased to be Scandinavian, 
French, or English : his patriotism was in each case transferred to his new 
country, and his historic being belongs to his last acquired home." Norman 
blood was in the veins of the Crusaders who first stood on the battlements 
of Jerusalem, and of the great German emperor, Frederic II. 



FEUDALISM. 255 

THE NORMANS. 

Tancred of Hauteville. 

Sicily. 



Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia, Roger, the Great Count, d. iioi. 

d. 1085. 



Roger (of Apulia, 1127; king, 1130), 1101-1154. 



I I 

Willlain I the Bad, 1154-1166, Constance {d. 1198), m. Emperor 

m. Margaret, daughter of Garcia IV of Navarre. Henry VI. 

William II the Good, 1166-1189, 
■m. Joanna, daughter of Henry II of England. 

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 

Origin of Feudalism. — When the Franks conquered Gaul, they 
divided the land among themselves. This estate each free Ger- 
man held as allodial property, or as a free-hold. The king took 
the 'largest share. His palaces were dwellings connected with 
large farms or hunting-grounds, and he went with his courtiers 
from one to another. To his personal followers and officers he 
allotted lands. These b&nefices, it seeins, were granted at first with 
the understanding that he might resume them at will. As holders 
of them, the recipients owed to him personal support. Other 
chiefs, and land-owners of a minor grade, took the same course. 
This was the germ oi feudalism. More and more it grew to be 
the characteristic method of living and of government in Western 
Europe after the fall of Charlemagne's empire. The inheritors 
of his dominion were not the kings of France, of Germany, or 
of Italy, but the numerous feudal lords. Against the invasions of 
the Norman, Saracen, and Hungarian plunderers, the kings and 
the counts proved themselves incapable of defending territory or 
people. Meantime, the principle of heredity — the principle that 
benefices should go down from father to son, or to the next heir 
— had gained a firm footing. Another fact was that the royal 
offices became hereditary, and were transmitted to the heirs of 
allodial property. Thus the exercise of government and the pos- 
session of land were linked together. In times of danger, small 
proprietors more and more put themselves under the protection 
of the richer and stronger : that is, allodial property became 
feudal. This custom had begun long before, in the decadence 
of the Roman empire, when not only poor freemen, but also men 
of moderate means, ruined by taxation, put themselves under the 
protection of the great, and settled on their lands. They became 



256 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

thus colons {coloni). In the later times of disorder of which we 
are now speaking, farmhouses in the country gave place to forti- 
fied castles on hill-tops or other defensible sites, about which clus- 
tered in villages the dependents of the lord, who tilled his land, 
fought for him, and, in turn, were protected by him. 

The Substance of Feudalism. — " Feudality recognizes two 
principles, the land and the sword, riches and force, — two prin- 
ciples on which every thing depends, to which every thing is re- 
lated, and which are united and identified with one another ; since 
it is necessary to possess land in order to have the right to use the 
sword in one's own name (that is to say, to have the right of 
private war), and since the possession of land imposes the duty 
of drawing the sword for the suzerain, and in the name of the 
suzerain of whom the land is held." Feudalism is a social system 
in which there is a kind of hierairhy of lands in the hands of 
warriors, who hold of one another in a gradation. There is a 
chain reaching up from the tower of the simple gentleman to the 
royal chateau, or castle. In this social organization, there are the 
two grand classes of the seigneurs and the serfs ; but the seig?ieur, 
even if he be a king, may also hold fiefs as a vassal. 

Suzerain and Vassal. — The S7/zerain and the vassal, or liege, 
were bound together by reciprocal obligations. The vassal owed 
(i) military service on the demand of the lord; (2) such aid as 
the suzerain called for in the administration of justice within his 
jurisdiction; (3) other aids, such as, when he was a prisoner, to 
pay the ransom for his release ; and pecuniary contributions 
when he armed his eldest son, and when he married his eldest 
daughter. These were legal or required aids. They took the 
place of taxation in modern states. There were other things that 
the vassal was expected to do which were gracious or voluntary. 
If the liege died without heirs, or forfeited the fief by a violation 
of the conditions on which it was held, it reverted to the lord. 
The liege was invested With, the fief. He knelt before the suzerain, 
put his hands within the hands of the suzerain, and took an oath 
to be his man. This was homage, — from homo in the Latin, and 
homme in French, signifying man. The suzerain might at any 
time require its renewal. Under the feudal system, every thing 
was turned into a fief. The right to hunt in a forest, or to fish 
in a river, or to have an escort on the roads, might be granted 
as a fief, on the condition of loyalty, and of the homage just de- 
scribed. 

Private War, — The vassal had the right to be tried by his 
peers ; that is, by vassals on the same level as himself. He 
might, if treated with injustice, go to the superior : he might 
appeal to the suzerain of his immediate lord. But suzerains pre- 
ferred to take justice into their own hands. Hence the custom 



FEUDALISM. 257 

of private war prevailed, and of judicial combats, or duels, so 
common in the middle ages. 

Entanglements of Feudalism. — Many suzerains were mutually 
vassals, each holding certain lands of the other. The same baron 
often held lands of different suzerains, who might be at war with 
each other, so that each required his service. The sovereign 
prince might be bound to do homage to a petty feudal lord on 
account of lands which the prince had inherited or otherwise 
acquired. The power of the suzerain depended on a variety of 
circumstances. The king might be weak, since feudalism grew 
out of the overthrow of royal power. The king of France, with the 
exception of titular prerogatives and some rights with regard to 
churches, which were often disputed, had no means of attack or 
defense beyond what the duchy of France furnished him. Yet 
logically and by a natural tendency, the king was the supreme 
suzerain, " Feudalism carried hid in its bosom the arms by which 
it was one day to be struck down." 

Ecclesiastical Feudalism. — The clergy were included in the 
feudal system. The bishop was often made the count, and, as 
such, was the suzerain of all the nobles in his diocese. Cities 
were often under the suzerainty of bishops. Besides their tithes, 
the clergy had immense landed possessions. The abbots and 
bishops often availed themselves of the protection of powerful 
vassals, of whom they were the suzerains. On the other hand, 
bishops, who were also themselves dtikes or counts, sometimes did 
homage for their temporalities to lay suzerains, especially to the 
king. In France and in England, in the middle ages, the feudal 
clergy possessed a fifth of all the land ; in Germany, a third. The 
church, through bequests of the dying and donations from the living, 
constantly increased its possessions. It might be despoiled, but it 
could defend itself by the terrible weapon of excommunication. 

Serfs and Villains. — In the eleventh century Europe was thus 
covered with a multitude of petty sovereigns. Below the body of 
rulers, or the holders of fiefs, was the mass of the people. These 
were the serfs, — the tillers of the ground, who enjoyed some of 
the privileges of freemen, and who, since they were attached 
to the seigneurie, could not be sold as slaves. The villains were a 
grade above the serfs. The term (from villce) originally meant 
villagers. They paid rent for the land which the proprietor 
allowed them to till ; but they were subject, like the serfs, to the 
will of the suzerain ; and the constant tendency was for them to 
sink into the inferior condition. Slavery, as distinguished from 
serfdom, gradually passed away under the emancipating spirit 
fostered by Christianity and the Church. 

The Inheritance of Fiefs. — At first the Salic principle, which 
excluded females from inheriting fiefs, prevailed. But that gave 



258 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

way, and daughters were preferred in law to collateral male rela- 
tives. When a female inherited, the fief was occupied by the 
suzerain up to the time of her marriage. It never ceased to be 
under the protection of the sword. In France, the right of pri- 
mogeniture was established, but with important qualifications, 
which varied in different portions of the country. The eldest, 
however, always had the largest portion. In Germany, the ten- 
dency to the division of fiefs was more prevalent. Among the 
Normans in England, and under their influence in Palestine, the 
law of inheritance by the eldest was established in its full rigor. 

Spirit of Feudalism. — Feudahsm had more vitality than the 
system of absorbing all the land by a few great proprietors, which 
existed in the period of the decline of the Roman Empire. Indi- 
viduality, courage, the proud sense of belonging to an aristocratic 
order, were widely diffused among the numerous feudal land- 
owners. The feeling of loyalty among them was a great advance 
upon the blind subjection of the slave to his master. But the 
weight of feudahsm was heavy on the lower strata of society. The 
lord was an autocrat, whose will there was neither the power nor 
the right to resist, and who could lay hold of as much of the 
labor and the earnings of the subject as he might choose to exact. 
The petty suzerain, because his needs were greater, was often more 
oppressive than the prince. The serf could not change his abode, 
he could not marry, he could not bequeath his goods, without the 
permission of his lord. 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 



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Period III. 

FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROMANO-GERMANIC 
EMPIRE TO THE END OF THE CRUSADES. 

{A.D. 962-1270.) 



CHAPTER I. 

THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE: PREDOMINANCE OP 
THE EMPIRE: 

TO THE CRUSADES, A.D. 1096. 
I. KINGS AND EMPERORS OF THE SAXON HOUSE (918-IO24). 

Henry the Fowler (918-936). — The envoys who carried to 
Duke Henry of Saxony the announcement of his election as king of 
Germany are said to have found him in the Hartz Mountains with 
a falcon on his wrist : hence he was called Henry the Fowler. He 
is a great figure in mediaeval history, and did much to make Ger- 
many a nation. He won back Lorraine, which had broken off 
from the kingdom. With it the Netherlands — Holland, Flanders, 
etc. — came to Germany, He united all the five great duke- 
doms, and governed with wisdom and moderation. At the end 
of five years, the Hungarians poured in with irresistible force. 
There was no alternative but to conclude with them a truce for 
nine years, during which he was to pay tribute. He set to work 
at once, however, to strengthen the defenses of his kingdom. He 
built walled towns and fortresses in the eastern districts of Saxony 
and Thuringia, and drafted one out of nine of the men from the 
population in the marches for military service. The fortresses 
were to be kept stored with provisions. The oldest towns of Saxony 
and of Thuringia are of this date. Then he disciplined his soldiers, 
and trained them to fight, like the Hungarians, on horseback. He 
conquered the Slavonian Wends who dwelt east of the Elbe and the 
Saale, and established the margraviate of Meissen to repel their 
attacks. His victory over the Slaves at Lenzen (929) made the 
north-eastern frontiers of Germany secure. Eadgyth, the daughter 
of Edward, king of England, was given in marriage to his eldest 
son, Otto. Henry now felt himself strong enough to throw off the 
260 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 26l 

Hungarian yoke, and answered with defiance their demand for the 
annual tribute. The struggle with them was hard ; but they were 
completely vanquished at Merseburg in 933, and their camp taken. 
Henry founded the mark of Schleswig as a defense against the 
Danes. This wise and vigorous monarch laid the foundations 
of the German Empire. He was not only a mighty wairior : he 
built up industry and trade. He was buried at Quedlinbicrg in 
the abbey which he had founded. 

Otto I.: the Palsgraves. — Otto I. (936-973) carried forward 
with equal energy the work which his father had begun. Having 
been chosen king by the German princes and chiefs at Aix, he 
was presented to the people in the church by the archbishop of 
Mentz ; and they gave their assent to the election by raising the 
hand. Otto had a contest before him to maintain the unity of 
the kingdom. He aimed to make the office of duke an office to be 
allotted by the king, and thus to sap the power of his turbulent 
lieges. The dukes of Bavaria and Franconia, with Lorraine, and 
with the support of Louis IV., king of France, rose in arms against 
him. He subdued them ; and the great duchies which had revolted 
against him becoming vacant, he placed in them members of his 
own family. He confirmed his authority by extending the power 
of the palsgraves, or counts palatine, — royal officers who superin- 
tended the domains of the king in the several duchies, and dis- 
pensed justice in his name. He favored the great ecclesiastics as 
a check to the aspiring lay lords. He invested the bishops and 
abbots with ring and staff, and they took the oath of fealty to him. 

Wars of Otto I. — Against the Hungarians, Otto achieved a 
triumph. He gained a victory over them at Augsburg in 955, in 
which they were said to have lost a hundred thousand men. This 
put an end to their incursions into Germany. He was likewise the 
victor in conflict with Slavonians. He subdued Boleslav I. of 
Bohemia, who had thrown off the German suzerainty, and obliged 
him to pay a tribute. Under the pious Boleslav II., Christianity 
was estabhshed there, and a bishopric founded at Prague (967). 
The Duke of Poland was forced to do homage to him, and to 
permit the founding of the bishopric of Posen. Against the Danish 
king, Harold the Blue-toothed, he carried his arms to the sea, the 
northern boundary of Jutland. He erected three new bishoprics 
among the Danes, and founded the archbishopric of Magdeburg, 
with subordinate sees in the valleys of the Elbe and the Oder. 
These achievements gave Otto great renown in Western Europe. 
The kings sent ambassadors to him, and presents came from the 
sovereigns at Constantinople and Cordova. 

Otto I. in Italy. — Otto now turned his eyes to Italy. After 
Arnulf, the Carlovingian emperor, left Italy (in 896), that country 
had been left to sixty years of anarchy. The demoralization and dis- 



262 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

order of Italy, the profligacy of the Romans and of the pontiffs, — 
every thing being then subject to the riotous aristocratic factions, 
— rendered unity impossible. For a time (926-945) Hugh of Pro- 
vence vfzs, called king : then followed his son Lothar (945-950). 
The next Italian king, Berengar II. of Ivrea (950), who, like his 
two predecessors, was an offshoot of the Carlovingian house, tried 
to force Adelheid, the beautiful young widow of Lothar, into a 
marriage with his ?,on Adalbert She (being then nineteen years 
of age) escaped with great difficulty from the prison where she 
was confined, took refuge in the castle of Canossa, and appealed 
to the great Otto, king of the Germans, for help, — to Otto, " that 
model of knightly virtue which was beginning to show itself after 
the fierce brutality of the last age." He descended into Italy, 
married the injured queen, and obliged Berengar to own him as 
suzerain (951). ^^r(?«:^<3;?' proved faithless and rebellious. Once 
more Otto entered Italy with an overpowering force, and was pro- 
claimed king of the Lombards at Pavia. Pope John XII. had 
proposed to him to assume the imperial office. He was crowned, 
with his queen, in St. Peter's, in 962. He had engaged to confirm 
the gifts of previous emperors to the popes. When John XII. 
reversed his steps, allied himself with Berengar, and tried to stir 
up the Greeks, and even the Hungarians, against the emperor, 
Otto came down from Lombardy, and captured Rome. He caused 
John to be deposed by a synod for his crimes, and Leo VIII. to 
be appointed in his place (963). But, while Otto was again ab- 
sent, Leo was driven out by the Romans, and John returned ; but, 
soon after, he died. The Romans then elected Benedict pope. 
Otto captured Rome once more, deposed him, and restored Leo. 
Benedict was held in custody, and died in Hamburg. On a third 
journey to Italy, in 966, Otto crushed the factions which had so 
long degraded Rome and the Church. On this occasion, he ne- 
gotiated a marriage between Theophano, a Greek princess, and 
his son, also named Otto. Thus he acquired the southern extremity 
of Italy. 

The Holy Roman Empire. — Otto had taken Charlemagne for 
his model. The " Holy Roman Empire of the German nation," 
the great political institution of the middle ages, was now estab- 
lished. In theory it was the union of the world-state and the world- 
church, — an undivided community under Emperor and Pope, 
its heaven-appointed secular and spiritual heads. As an actual 
political fact, it was the political union of Gei'many and Italy, in 
one sovereignty, which was in the hands of the German king. The 
junction of the two peoples was not without its advantages to 
both. It was, however, fruitful of evils. The strength of Ger- 
many was spent in endless struggles abroad, which stood in the 
way of the building up of a compact kingdom at home. For 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 263 

Italy it was the rule of foreigners, of which she might feel the 
need, but to which she was never reconciled. 

Otto II.: Otto III.: Henry II. — Otto IL (973-983) was highly 
gifted intellectually, but lacked his father's energy and decision. 
Hejiry the Quarrelsome, duke of Bavaria, revolted, but was put 
down, and deprived of his duchy. Otto obliged Lothar, the West 
Frankish king, to give up his claim to Lotharingia, which he 
attempted to seize. Otto, in 980, went to Italy, and, in the effort 
to conquer Southern Italy from the Greeks and Saracens, barely 
escaped with his life. This was in 982. He never returned to 
Germany. While Otto III. (983-1002) was a child, his mother, 
Theopha7io, was regent for a time in Germany, and his grand- 
mother, Adelheid, in Italy. One of Otto's tutors was Gerbert, an 
eminent scholar and theologian. The proficiency of the young 
prince caused him to be styled the "Wonder of the World." He 
was crowned emperor in Rome in 996, when he was only sixteen 
years old. He dreamed of making Rome once more the center 
of the world, for his interest was chiefly in Italy. But his schemes 
were ended by his early death. At this time and afterward, there 
was deep agitation manifested in Europe, owing to the general 
expectation that before long the world would come to an end. 
On this account pilgrims flocked to Rome. Henry II. (1002-1024), 
as nearest of kin to the Saxon house, was the next emperor. Be- 
sides waging war with his own insurgent lieges, he had to carry on 
a contest for fourteen years with Boleslav, king of Poland, who 
had to give up Bohemia and Meissen. He founded the bishopric 
of Bamberg (1007). From this time the German kings, before 
their coronation as emperors, took the title of Ki?ig of the Romans. 
The highest nobles were styled " Princes." The nobles lived in 
the castles, which were built for strongholds, as the power of the 
lords grew, and private wars became more common. 

II. THE FRANCONIAN OR SALIAN EMPERORS (1024-II25). 

Conrad II. : Burgundy : the Poles. — At a great assembly of 
dukes, counts, and prelates at Oppenheim on the Rhine, Conrad, a 
Franconian nobleman {Conrad II.), was elected emperor (1024- 
1039). He was in the prime of life, and went to work vigorously 
to repress disorder in his kingdom. He had the support of the 
cities, which were now increasing in importance. At his corona- 
tion in Rome, in 1027, there were two kings present, Canute of 
England and Denmark, and Rudolph III. of Burgundy (or Arks, 
as the kingdom was called which had been formed by Rudolph II., 
by uniting Burgundy with a great part of Prove7ice) . After the 
death o^ Rudolph, who had appointed Conrad his successor, the 
emperor was crowned king of Aries, which remained thus attached 
to Germany. But at a later time the Romance, or non-German 



264 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

portions, were absorbed by France. The Duchy of Burgundy, a 
fief of the French king, was not included in the kingdom. The 
Poles invaded Germany in great force. Miesko, their leader, was 
repelled, and obUged to do homage for his crown, and to give up 
Lusatia, which had been received by Boleslav from Henry II. 
In Italy, Conrad issued an edict making the smaller fiefs there 
hereditary. He seems to have designed to do away with dukes, 
and to make the allegiance of all vassals to the king immediate. 

Henry III.: the Truce of God. — With Henry III. (1039- 
1056) the imperial power reached its height. He was for a time 
duke of Bavaria, Swabia, and Franc onia, as well as emperor. 
In Hungary he conquered the enemies of Peter the king, and re- 
stored him to the throne, receiving his homage as vassal of the 
empire. He had great success in putting down private war. In 
1043 he proclaimed a general peace in his kingdom. He favored 
the attempt to bring in the Truce of God. This originated in 
Aquitaine, where the bishops, in 1041, ordered that no private 
feuds should be prosecuted between the sunset of Wednesday and 
the sunrise of Monday, the period covered by the most sacred 
events in the Ufe of Jesus. This " truce," which was afterwards 
extended to embrace certain other holy seasons and festivals, 
spread from land to land. It shows the influence of Christianity 
in those dark and troublous times. Although it was imperfectly 
carried out, it was most beneficent in its influence, and specially 
welcome to the classes not capable of defending themselves against 
violence. 

Synod of Sutri. — In 1046 Henry wzs called into Italy by the 
well-disposed of all parties, to put an end to the reign of vice and 
disorder at Rome. He caused the three rival popes to be deposed 
by a synod at Sutri, and a German prelate, Suidger, bishop of 
Bamberg, to be appointed under the name of Clement II., by 
whom he was crowned emperor. After Clement died, Henry 
raised to the Papacy three German popes in succession. While in 
the full exercise of his great authority,^ and when he was not quite 
forty years of age, he died. 

Henry IV.: His Contests in Germany. — Henry IV. (1056- 
1106), at his father's death, was but six years old. He had been 
crowned king at the age of four. Agnes of Poitou, his mother, 
the regent, had no ability to curb the princes, who were now re- 
leased from restraint, and eager for independence. By a bold 
stratagem, an ambitious prelate, Hanno, archbishop of Cologne, 
carried off the young king, and assumed the guardianship over 
him. He had a rival in the person of Adalbert, archbi^shop of 
Bremen, whom Henry liked best, as being more indulgent and 
complaisant, and who at length became his chosen guide. But 
in 1066 the princes caused Adalbert to be banished from 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 



265 



court. They obliged Henry to marry Bertha, the daughter of 
the margrave of Turin, to whom he had been betrothed by his 
father. The union was repugnant to him, and he sought a divorce ; 
although her patience eventually won the victory, and she became 
a cherished wife. Henry, arrived at man's estate, was involved 
in a contest with three of the great dukes. It was evident that he 
meant to tread in the footsteps of his father, and to reduce the 
princes to submission. Hostility arose, especially between the 
young king and the Saxons, who did not relish the transfer of 
the imperial office to the Franconian line. The passionate and 
wilful disposition of Henry, and his sensual propensities, were his 
worst enemies. The strongholds which he erected among the 
Saxons, in themselves a menace, were made haunts of his boon 
companions and comrades in the chase. The extortion and dep- 
redations to which the Saxons were a prey provoked a great insur- 
rection, which at first prevailed ; but the excesses of the elated 
insurgents — as seen, for example, in the plundering and burning of 
churches — caused a reaction. Henry suppressed the revolt, and 
dealt with the Saxons with the utmost harshness, treating their 
dukedom as conquered territory. The Saxon chiefs were now in 
durance : his enemies on every side had willingly yielded, or were 
prostrate. The hour seemed to have come for Henry to exer- 
cise that sovereignty as Roman emperor over Church and State 
which his father had wielded ; but he found himself confronted by 
a new and powerful antagonist in the celebrated Pope Hilde- 
brand, or Gregory VII. (1073-1085). 

Hildebrand : Investitures. — The state of affairs in the Roman 
Church had called into existence a party of reform, the life and 
soul of which was Hildebrand. He was the son of a carpenter of 
Soano, a small town in Tuscany, and was born in 1018. He was 
educated in a monastery in Rome, and spent some time in France, 
in the great monastery of Clitny. He became the influential adviser 
of the popes who immediately preceded him. The great aim of 
Hildebrand and of his supporters — one of the most prominent 
of whom was the zealous Peter Daniiani, bishop of Ostia — was to 
abolish simony and the marriage of priests. By simony was meant 
the purchase and sale of benefices, which had come to prevail in 
the different countries. The old church laws requiring celibacy had 
been disregarded, and great numbers of the inferior clergy were 
living with their wives. In Hildebrand's view, there could be no 
purity and no just discipline in the Church without a strict enforce- 
ment of the neglected rule. The priests must put away their 
wives. Connected with these reforms was the broader design of 
wholly emancipating the Church from the control of the secular 
power, and of subordinating the State to the Church. For this 
end there must be an abolition of investiture by lay bands. This 



266 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

demand it was that kindled a prolonged and terrible controversy 
between the emperors and the popes. The great ecclesiastics 
had temporal estates and a temporal jurisdiction, which placed 
them in a feudal relation, and made them powerful subjects. It 
was the custom of the kings to invest them with these temporalities 
by giving to them the ring and the staff. This enabled the kings 
to keep out of the benefices persons not acceptable to them, who 
might be elected by the clergy. On the other hand, it was com- 
plained that this custom put the bishops and other high eccle- 
siastics into a relation of dependence on the lay authority ; and, 
moreover, that, the ring and staff being badges of a spiritual func- 
tion, it was sacrilegious for a layman to bestow them. 

Contest of Hildebrand and Henry IV. — In the period of law- 
lessness at Rome, Hildebrand had welcomed the intervention of 
Henry III., and even of Henry IV., at the beginning of his reign. 
But this he regarded as only a provisional remedy made necessary 
by a desperate disorder. On acceding to the Papacy, he began to 
put in force his leading ideas. The attempt to abohsh the marriage 
of priests was resisted, and stirred up great commotion in all the 
countries. The legates of the Pope set themselves to stem the tide 
of opposition by inveighing, in addresses to the common people, 
against the married clergy, as unfit to minister at the altar. By 
this means, a popular party in favor of the reform was created. In 
1075, in a synod at Rome, Hildebrand pronounced the ban against 
five councilors of Henry IV. for simony. At the same time he 
threatened Philip of France with a similar penalty. He forbade 
princes to invest with any spiritual office. To oaths of allegiance he 
did not object, but to any investiture of a spiritual kind. Gregory 
selected Henry IV. as the antagonist with whom to fight out the 
battle. Henry's ecclesiastical appointments were not simoniacal in 
fact, although they violated the papal decrees against simony. His 
real offense was his determination to make the appointments himself. 
Moreover, in 1075, he ventured to name Germans to the sees of 
Ferno and Spoleto. Unfortunately he was weakened by the dis- 
affection of the German princes, and, most of all, of the Saxons. 
The fire of rebellion in Saxony had not been quenched : it was 
still smouldering. Gregory summoned Henry to Rome to answer 
to the charges made against him. In three German synods held 
in 1076, the incensed emperor caused empty accusations to be 
brought against the Pope, and a declaration to be passed depos- 
ing him. He sent to the pontiff a letter filled with denunciation, 
and addressed " to the false monk, Hildebrand." Gregory issued 
decrees excommunicating Henry, deposing him, and declaring his 
subjects free from their obligation of allegiance. It was the re- 
ceived doctrine, that a heretic or a heathen could not reign over 
Christian people. The discontented German princes took sides 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 26/ 

with Gregory. In an assembly at Tribiir in 1076, they invited the 
Pope to come to Augsburg, and to judge in the case of Henry : he 
was to Uve as a private man ; and, if he remained excommunicate 
for a year, he v/as to cease to be king altogether. 

Humiliation of Henry IV. — Henry was now as anxious for rec- 
onciUation with the Pope as before he had been bold in his de- 
fiance. In the midst of winter, with his wife and child and a few 
attendants, he crossed the Mt. Cenis pass, undergoing extreme 
difficulty and hardship, and presented himself as a penitent before 
Gregory, who had arrived, on his way to Augsburg, at the strongly 
fortified castle of Canossa. The Pope kept him waiting long, it is 
said, barefoot and bareheaded in the court-yard of the castle. 
Finally he was admitted and absolved, but only on the condition 
that Gregory was to adjust the matters in dispute between the 
emperor and his subjects. 

Continued Conflict. — When Henry found that his imperial 
rights were still withheld, his fiery spirit rebounded from this 
depth of humiliation. The Lombards, with whom Gregory was 
unpopular, joined him. A majority of the German princes, adher- 
ing to the Pope, in 1077 elected Rudolph, duke of Swabia, emperor. 
The Pope took up his cause, and in 1080 once more excommuni- 
cated and deposed Henry. The emperor proclaimed anew, 
through synods, the Pope's deposition, and things were back in 
the former state. The emperor's party appointed a counter-pope, 
Guibert, archbishop of Ravenna, under the name of Clement HI. 
Rudolph was killed in battle (1080). Henry s power now vastly 
increased. He invaded Italy (1081), and laid waste the territory 
of Matilda, countess of Tuscany, a fast friend of Gregory. In 
1084 he captured Rome. The Pope had found a defender in 
Robert Guiscard, the Norman duke of Lower Italy, whom he had 
excommunicated, but whom (in 1080) he forgave, and took into his 
service. Robert released Gregory, who had been besieged in the 
Castle of St. Angelo. Hilde b rajid ditd. at Salerno, May 25, 1085. 
When near his end he uttered the words which are inscribed on 
his tomb : " I have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity ; there- 
fore do I die in exile." Of the rectitude of his intentions, there 
is no room for doubt, whatever view is taken of the expediency 
of his measures. He united with an unbending will the power of 
accommodating himself to circumstances, as is witnessed in his 
treatment of Robert Guiscard, and in his forbearance towards 
William the Conqueror, king of England, with whom he did not 
wish to break. 

Of this great pontiff, Sir James Stephen says : " He found the Papacy 
dependent on the empire : he sustained it by alliances almost commensu- 
rate with the Italian peninsula. He found the Papacy electoral by the 
Roman people and clergy : he left it electoral by a college of papal nomina- 



268 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

tion. He found the emperor the virtual patron of the holy see : he wrested 
that power from his hands. He found the secular clergy the allies and depen- 
dants of the secular power : he converted them into the inalienable auxiliaries 
of his own. He found the higher ecclesiastics in servitude to the temporal 
sovereigns : he delivered them from that yoke to subjugate them to the 
Roman tiara. He found the patronage of the Church the mere desecrated 
spoil and merchandise of princes : he reduced it within the dominion of the 
supreme pontiff. He is celebrated as the reformer of the impure and pro- 
fane abuses of his age : he is more justly entitled to the praise of having left 
the impress of his own gigantic character on the history of all the ages which 
have succeeded him." 

Last Days of Henry IV. — In 1085 Henry IV. returned to Ger- 
many, having been crowned emperor by his Pope, Clement III. 
The Saxons were tired of strife ; and, on the assurance that their 
ancient privileges should be restored, they were pacified. Her- 
mann of Luxemburg, whom they had recognized as their king, had 
resigned the crown (1088). The last days oi Henij^itxt. clouded 
by the rebellion of his sons, first of Cofirad (1093), and then of 
Henry (1104), who was supported by the Pope, Paschal H. The 
emperor was taken prisoner, and obliged to sign his own abdica- 
tion at Tngelheim in 1105. The duke of Lotharingia and others 
came to his support, and a civil war was threatened ; but Henry 
died at Lilttich in 1106. His body was placed in a stone coffin, 
where it lay in an unconsecrated chapel, at Spires, until the re- 
moval of the excommunication ( 1 1 1 1 ) . 

Concordat of Worms. — Henry V. (1106-1125) was not in the 
least disposed to yield up the right of investiture. Hence he was 
soon engaged in a controversy with Paschal //. Henry went to 
Rome with an army in mo, and obliged the Pope to crown him 
emperor, and to concede to him the right in question. When he 
went back to Germany, the Pope revoked the concession, and 
excommunicated him. The German princes, as might be ex- 
pected, sided with the pontiff. The conflict in Germany went 
on. The emperor's authority, which was established in the South 
by means of his powerful supporters, was not secured in the 
North ; but, during the last three years of his life, he was at 
peace with the Church. By the Concordat of Worms in 1 122, it 
was agreed that investiture should take place in the presence of 
the emperor or of his deputies ; that the emperor should first 
invest with the scepter, and then consecration should take place 
by the Church, with the bestowal of the 7'ing and the staff. All 
holders of secular benefices were to perform feudal obligations. 

Lothar of Saxony. — The princes over whom Henry V. had 
exercised a severe control opposed the elevation of Frederick of 
Hohenstaufen, the son of his sister Agnes. At a brilliant as- 
sembly at Meniz, Lothar of Saxony was chosen emperor (1125- 
1137). He allowed all the Pope's claims, and was crowned at 
Rome by Innocent II,, accepting the allodial possessions oi Matilda 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 269 

of Tuscany, as a fief from the pontiff. He carried on a war with 
the Hohenstaufen princes, Frederick of Swabia, and his brother 
Conrad, who finally yielded. Lothar was helped in the conflict 
by Henry the Proud, the duke of Bavaria, who also became duke 
of Saxony. Germany under Lothar extended its influence in the 
north and east. 

Culture in the Eleventh Century. — The tenth century, owing 
to causes which have been explained, was a dark age. In the 
eleventh century circumstances were more favorable for culture. 
Under the Saxon emperors, intercourse was renewed with the 
Greek Empire. There was some intercourse with the Arabs in 
Spain, among whom several of the sciences were cultivated, espe- 
cially mathematics, astronomy, and medicine (p. 232). The study 
of the Roman law was revived in the Lombard cities, and this had 
a disciplinary value. The restoration of order in the Church, after 
the synod of Siitri (1046), had likewise a wholesome influence in 
respect to culture. There were several schools of high repute 
in France, especially those at Rhewis, Chartres, Tonics, and in the 
monastery of Bee, in Normandy, where Lanfranc, an Italian by 
birth, a man of wisdom and piety, was the abbot. 



CHAPTER n. 

THE CHURCn AND THE EMPIRE : PREDOMINANCE OP THE 

CHURCH: 

TO THE END OF THE CRUSADES. A.D. 1270. 

The Two Religions. — The Crusades were a new chapter in 
the long warfare of Christendom with Mohammedanism. " In the 
Middle Ages, there were two worlds utterly distinct, — that of the 
Gospel and that of the Koran." In Europe, with the exception 
of Spain, the Gospel had sway ; from the Pyrenees to the mouths 
of the Ganges, the Koran. The border contests between the two 
hostile parties on the eastern and western frontiers of Christendom 
were now to give place to conflict on a larger scale during centu- 
ries of invasion and war. 

State of the Greek Empire. — The Greek Christian Empire lay 
between the Christian peoples of the West and the dominion of 
the Arabs. That empire lived on, a spiritless body. After Jus- 
tmian, there is an endless recurrence of wars with the Arabs, and 
with the barbarians on the North, and of theological disputes, 
either within the empire itself, or with the Church of the West. 
The Greeks complained that a phrase teaching the procession of 
the Spirit from the Son had been added in the West to the Nicene 



270 MEDI/EVAL HISTORY. 

Creed. The Latins complained of the use of leavened bread in 
the sacrament, of the marriage of priests, and of some other Greek 
peculiarities. The separation of the two churches was consum- 
mated when, in 1054, the legate of the Pope laid on the altar of 
Sf. Sophia, at Constantinople, an anathema against " the seven 
mortal heresies " of the Greeks. 

Attacks of Russians and Bulgarians. — Left to itself, the em- 
pire showed some energy in repeUing the attacks of the Russians 
and Bulgarians. A number of capable rulers arose. The Russians, 
of the same race of Northmen who had ravaged Western Europe, 
kept up their assaults until their chief, Vladimir, made peace, 
accepted Christianity, and married the sister of the emperor, 
Basil IL (988). The empire between 988 and 1014 was invaded 
twenty-six times by King Samuel of Bulgaria. But the Bulgarian 
kingdom was overthrown, in 10 19, by Basil IL In the twelfth 
century it regained its independence. 

The Greek Emperors. — In the ninth century the Greeks made 
head against' the Arabs, especially by means of their navy. In 
the tenth century John I. {Zi?jiisces) crossed the Euphrates, and 
created alarm in Bagdad. The tenacity of life in the Greek Em- 
pire was surprising in view of the languishing sort of existence that 
it led. After Heraclius, there were three dynasties, the last of 
which, the Macedonian (867-1056), produced three remarkable 
men, Nicephorus Phocas, Zimisces, and Basil II. But the dynasty 
of Comne7ti, which, in the person of Isaac Z, ascended the throne 
in 1057, had to combat a new and vigorous enemy, the Turks, who 
had now made themselves masters of Asia. One of this line 
of emperors, Alexius I, appealed to the Germans for help. This 
had some influence in giving rise to the first of the Crusades. In 
these conflicts the Latins bore the brunt. The exhausted Greek 
Empire played a minor part. 

Conquests of the Turks. — The Mussulman dominion of the 
A?'abs had become enfeebled. The Ommiad dynasty at Cordova 
had disappeared under the assaults of Christians, and of the Moors 
of Africa. The Fatimite caliphs were confined to Egypt. The rule 
of the Abassids of Bagdad had been well-nigh demolished by the 
Seljukian Turks in 1058. They founded in the eleventh century an 
extensive empire. The sultan. Alp Arslan, took the emperor, Ro- 
manus IV. Diogenes, prisoner (1071), and conquered Armenia. 
Malek Shah invaded Syria, Palestine, Jerusalem, and carried his 
arms as far as Egypt, while a member of the Turkish family of 
Seljuk wrested Asia Minor from the Greeks, and established the 
kingdom of Iconiiim, which was called Roum, extending from 
Mount Taurus to the Bosphorus. After the death of Malek 
Shah, there were three distinct sultanates, Persia, Syria, and 
Kerman, — the last being on the shores of the Indian Ocean. 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 2/1 

The Pilgrims to Jerusalem. — The immediate occasion of the 
Crusades was the hard treatment of the Christian pilgrims who 
visited the sepulcher of Christ in Jerusalem. There the Empress 
Hele7ia, the mother of Constantine, had erected a stately church. 
Pilgrimages — which had become more and more a custom since 
the fourth century — naturally tended to the sacred places in Pales- 
tine. Especially was this the case in the eleventh century, when 
piety had been quickened by the Cluny movement. In 1064 a 
great pilgrimage, in which seven thousand persons, priests and laity, 
of all nations, were included, under Siegfried, archbishop of Mentz, 
made its way through Hungary to Syria. Not more than a third 
of them lived to return. The reports of returning pilgrims were 
hstened to with absorbing interest, as they told of the spots to 
which the imagination of the people was constantly directed. 
What indignation then was kindled by the pathetic narrative of 
the insults and blows which they had endured from the infidels 
who profaned the holy places with their hateful domination ! In 
the ninth century, under caliphs of the temper of JJaroun Al-Ras- 
chid. Christians had been well treated. About the middle of the 
tenth century the Fatimite caliphs of Egypt were the rulers at 
Jerusalem. Hakem was fierce in his persecution, but his succes- 
sors were more tolerant. When the Seljukian Turks got control 
there, the harassed pilgrims had constant occasion to complain of 
insult and inhumanity. 

The Call of the Greeks. — The Greek emperor, Alexius Com- 
neniis, threatened by the Mussulmans on the opposite bank of the 
Bosphorus, sent his call for succor to all Christian courts. Two 
popes, Sylvester' II. and Gregory VII. , had in vain exhorted the 
princes to rise in their might, to do away with the wrong and the 
shame which the disciples of Jesus were suffering at the hands of 
his enemies. 

Motives to the Crusades. — After this, only a spark was need- 
ed to kindle in the Western nations a flame of enthusiasm. The 
summons to a crusade appealed to the two most powerful senti- 
ments then prevalent, — the sentiment of religion and that of chiv- 
alry. The response made by faith and reverence was reinforced 
by that thirst for a martial career and for knightly exploits which 
burned as a passion in the hearts of men. The peoples in the coun- 
tries formed by the Germanic conquests were full of vigor and life. 
Outside of the Church, there was no employment to attract aspir- 
ing youth but the employment of a soldier. Western Europe was 
covered with a net-work of petty sovereignties. Feudal conflicts, 
while they were a discipline of strength and valor, were a narrow 
field for all this pent-up energy. There was a latent yearning for 
a wider horizon, a broader theater of action. Thus the Crusades 
profoundly interested all classes. The Church and the clergy, the 



272 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

lower orders, the women and the children, shared to the full in the 
religious enthusiasm, which, in the case of princes and nobles, took 
the form of an intense desire to engage personally in the holy war, 
in order to crush the infidels, and at the same time to signalize 
themselves by gallant feats of arms. There was no surer road to 
salvation. There was, moreover, a hope, of which all in distressed 
circumstances partook, of improving their temporal lot. 

The Council of Clermont. — The prime author of the first Cru- 
sade was Pope Urban II. He authorized an enthusiast, Peter the 
Herj7iit, of Amiens, to travel on an ass through Italy and Southern 
France, and to stir up the people to the great undertaking of 
delivering the Holy Sepulcher. With an emaciated countenance 
and flashing eye, his head bare, and feet naked, and wearing a 
coarse garment bound with a girdle of cords, he told his burn- 
ing tale of the inflictions endured by the pilgrims. At the great 
council of Ckrmont, in 1095, where a throng of bishops and 
nobles, and a multitude of common people who spoke the Ro- 
manic tongue, were assembled. Urban himself addressed the 
assembly in a strain of impassioned fervor. He called upon every- 
one to deny himself, and take up his cross, that he might win 
Christ. Whoever would enlist in the war was to have a complete 
remission of penances, — a "plenary indulgence." Th answer 
was thundered forth, "God wills it." Thousands knelt, and 
begged to be enrolled in the sacred bands. The red cross of 
cloth or silk, fastened to the right shoulder, was the badge of all 
who took up arms. Hence they were called crusaders (from an old 
French word derived from cruceni, Lat. ace. oi crux, a cross). 

The Undisciplined Bands. — The farmer left his plow, and the 
shepherd his flock. Both sexes and all ages were inspired Avith 
a common passion. Before a military organization could be 
made, a disorderly host, poorly armed and ill-provided, led by 
Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless, a French knight, 
started for Constantinople by way of Germany and Hungary. 
They were obhged to separate ; and, of two hundred thousand, it 
is said that only seven thousand reached that capital. These per- 
ished in Asia Minor. They left their bones on the plain of 
Niccea, where they were found by the next crusading expedition. 

First Crusade (1096-1099). — "The Crusades were primarily 
a Gaulish movement : " in French-speaking lands, the fire of 
chivalric devotion was most intense. The first regular army of 
soldiers of the cross departed by different routes under separate 
chiefs. First of these was Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower 
Lorraine, the bravest and noblest of them all. With him were 
his brothers, Baldwin, and Eustace, count of Boulogne. Promi- 
nent among the other chiefs were Hugh, count of Vermandois ; 
Robert, duke of Normandy, who had pawned his duchy to his 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 2/3 

brother, William II., the king of England ; Robert, count of 
Flanders ; Raymond, count of Toulouse ; Boheinond of Tarentum, 
son of Robert Guiscard ; and Tancred, Robert Guiscard's nephew. 
The Spaniards were taken up with their own crusade against the 
Moors. In consequence of the late absorbing struggles between 
emperors and popes, the Germans and Italians did not now em- 
bark in the enterprise. The relation of the Norman dynasty in 
England to the conquered Saxons prevented the first crusading 
host from receiving substantial aid from that country. The leaders 
of the army finally consented to become the feudal dependents of 
the emperor Alexius while they should be within his borders, and 
to restore to him such of their conquests as had been lately wrested 
by the Turks from the Eastern Empire. Alexius was more alarmed 
than gratified on seeing the swarm of warriors which he had brought 
into his land. After a siege of seven weeks, Niccea was surren- 
dered, not, however, into the hands of the European soldiers who 
had conducted the siege, but to the shrewd Alexius. At Dorylceutn, 
in a desperate battle the Turks were defeated ; but, on their march 
eastward, they wasted the lands which they left behind them. The 
crusaders suffered severely from disease consequent on the heat. 
A private quarrel broke out between Tancred and Bahhvin. Bald- 
win, invited to Edessa by the Greek or Armenian ruler, founded 
there a Latin principality. After besieging Antioch for several 
months, by the treachery of a renegade Christian, Bohemond, with 
a few followers, was admitted into the city. The Christians slew 
ten thousand of its defenders ; but, three days after, Antioch was 
shut in by a great army of Turks under the sultan Kerboga. The 
crusaders were stimulated by the supposed discovery of the " holy 
lance," or the steel head of the spear which had pierced the side 
of Jesus. The Turks were vanquished, and the citadel of Anti- 
och was possessed by Bohemond. The wrangling chieftains were 
now compelled by the army to set out for Jerusalem. When they 
reached the heights where they first caught a glimpse of the 
holy city, the crusaders fell on their knees, and with tears of joy 
broke out in hymns of praise to God. But, not accustomed to 
siege operations, and destitute of the machines and ladders req- 
uisite for the purpose, they found themselves balked in the first 
attempts to capture the city. Yet after thirty days, their needs 
having been meantime in a measure supplied, Jerusalem was 
taken by storm (July 15, 1099). The infuriated conquerors 
gave the rein to their vindictive passions. Ten thousand Saracens 
were slaughtered. The Jews were burned in the synagogues, to 
which they had fled. When the thirst for blood and for plun- 
der was sated, feelings of penitence and humility took possession 
of the victors. The leaders, casting aside their arms, with bared 
heads and barefoot, entered into the church of the Holy Sepul- 



274 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

cher, and on their bended knees thanked God for their success. 
After debate, the princes united in choosing Godfrey of Bouillon 
as ruler of the city. He would not wear a royal crown in the 
place where the Saviour of the world had worn on his bleeding 
forehead a crown of thorns. He designated himself Protector of 
the Holy Sepulcher. Shortly after, at Ascalon, he won a great 
victory against the vastly superior forces of the Egyptian sultan. 
Godfrey died the next year (iioo), and was succeeded by his 
brother Baldwin, who first took the title of King of Jerusalem. 
The force of the Moslems, and the almost incessant strife and 
division among the crusaders themselves, made the kingdom hard 
to defend. 

The New Kingdom. — Venice, Genoa, and Pisa had the most 
to do with the defense and enlargement of the new kingdom. It 
was organized according to the method of feudalism. It contin- 
ued until the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187. 

The Military Orders. — The principal supporters of the new 
kingdom at Jerusalem were the orders of knights, in which were 
united the spirit of chivalry and the spirit of monasticism. To 
the monastic vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, they added 
a fourth vow, which bound them to fight the infidels, and to protect 
the pilgrims. These military orders acquired great privileges and 
great wealth. Each of them had its own peculiar apparel, stamped 
vdth a cross. The two principal orders were the Knights of St. 
John, or the Hospitallers, and the Knights Templar. The Hospi- 
tallers grew out of a hospital established in the eleventh century 
near the Holy Sepulcher, for the care of sick or wounded pilgrims. 
The order, when fully constituted, contained three classes of mem- 
bers, — knights, who were all of noble birth, priests and chaplains, 
and serving brothers. After the loss of the Holy Land, the island 
oi Rhodes was given up to them. This they held until 1522, when 
they were driven out by the Turks, and received from the empe- 
ror, Charles V., the island of Malta. The Templars gained high 
renown for their valor, and, by presents and legacies, acquired im- 
mense wealth. After the loss of their possessions in Palestine, 
most of their members took up their abode in Cyprus: from 
there many of them went to France. Not a few of them became 
addicted to violent and profligate ways. They were charged, 
whether truly or falsely, with unbelief, and Oriental superstitions 
caught up in the East from their enemies. These accusations, 
coupled with a desire to get their property, led to their suppression 
by Philip V. in the beginning of the fourteenth century. A third 
order was that of Teutonic Knights, founded at Jerusalem about 
1 1 28. In the next century they subjugated the heathen Wends in 
Prussia (1226-1283). 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 2/$ 

Welfs and Waiblings. — The emperor Lothar died on a jour- 
ney back from Italy in 1137. Henry the Proud, of the house of 
Welf, to whom he had given the imperial insignia, hoped to be his 
successor, and hesitated to recognize Conrad III. (113 7-1 152) 
of the house of Hohensfaufen, who was chosen. Conrad required 
him to give up Saxony, for the reason that one prince could not 
govern two duchies. When he refused, Bavaria, also, was taken 
from him, and given to Leopold, margrave of Austria. This led to 
war, in which the king, as usual, was strongly supported by the 
cities. Henry the Proud left a young son, known later as Henry 
the Lion. Count Welf, the brother of Henry the Proud, kept up 
the war in Bavaria. He was besieged in Weinsberg. During the 
siege, it is said that his followers shouted " Welf" as a war-cry, 
while the besiegers shouted " Waiblings,'" — Waiblingen being the 
birthplace oi Frederick, duke of Swabia, brother of Conrad. These 
names, corrupted into Giielphs and Ghibellines by the Italians, were 
afterwards attached to the two great parties, — the supporters, re- 
spectively, of the popes and the emperors. Henry the Lion after- 
wards received Saxony ; and the mark of Brandenburg was given 
in lieu of it to Albert the Bear. 

Welf I. was a powerful nobleman, who received from Henry IV. the fief 
of Bavaria. When Henry V. died, the natural heirs of the extinct Franco- 
nian line were his nephews, Frederick of Hohensfaufen, duke of Swabia, and 
Conrad. But the Saxons supported the wealthy Lothar, who was chosen 
emperor, and won over to his side Henry the Proud, grandson of Welf I., to 
whom Lothar gave his daughter in marriage, and gave, also, the dukedom of 
Saxony, in addition to his dukedom of Bavaria. In these events lay the 
roots of the long rivalship between the Welfs and the Hohenstaifens. Henry 
the Lion, as stated above, was the son of Henry the Proud. 



GENEALOGY OF THE WELFS. 



Welf, Duke of Bavaria, 1070-1 loi. 
Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria, 11 20-1 126. 



I 1 

Judith, fit. Frederic, Duke Henry the Proud, Duke of Bavaria 1126, of Saxony 1137; 
of Swabia {d. 1147), the . deprived, 1138. 

son of Agnes, who was I 

the daughter of Henry 1 

IV. Frederic I (Bar- Henry the Lion, 

barossa) was the son of ^_ Matilda, daughter of Henry H of England. 

Judith, and this trederic 1 

of Swabia. The Swabian 

dukes were called Hohen- | 

staufens, from a castle on I ~ I 

Mount Staufen in Wur- Henry the Young, d. 1227. Otto IV, d. 1218. 

temberg. 



276 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Second Crusade (1147-1149). — The preacher of the second 
Crusade was St. Bernard, whose saintly hfe and moving eloquence 
produced a great effect. Louis VII. of France and Conrad III. 
were the leaders. The expedition was attended by a series of 
calamities. The design of recapturing Edessa from Noureddin, 
the sultan of Aleppo, was given up. The siege of Damascus failed 
(1148). C^;2r<3:^ returned home with broken health. Soon after, 
Damascus fell into the hands of Noureddin, who was a brave and 
upright leader. Through one of his lieutenants, he conquered 
Egypt. After his death, Saladin, who sprung from one of the tribes 
of Kurds, and was in his service, rose to power there, and set 
aside the Fatimite caliphate ( 1 1 7 1 ) . He was not less renowned 
for his culture and magnanimity than for his valor. Saladin united 
under his scepter all the lands from Cairo to Aleppo. In the battle 
dXRamla, not far from Ascalon (11 78), the crusaders gained their 
last notable victory over this antagonist, which served to prolong 
for some years the existence of the kingdom of Jerusalem. After- 
wards victory was on his side : the crusaders were overthrown 
in the fatal battle of Tiberias, and Jemsalem was taken by him 
(1187). Thus the Latin kingdom fell. The Saracen conqueror was 
much more humane after success than the Christian warriors had 
been in like circumstances. 

Frederick Barbarossa. — Frederick I. — Barbarossa, or Red- 
beard, he was called in Italy — (115 2-1 190) was one of the grand 
figures of the Middle Ages. He was thirty-one years of age at his 
election as emperor, and had already been with the crusaders to 
the Holy Land. In him great strength of understanding and a 
capacity for large undertakings were combined with a taste for 
letters and art. His aim was to bring back to the empire the 
strength and dignity which had belonged to it under the Saxon 
and Franconian emperors. The rulers of Bohemia and Poland he 
obliged to swear fealty as vassals. He put down private war, and 
restored order in Germany. The palatinate on the Rhine, formerly 
a part of Franconia, he gave to his half-brother Conrad, who 
founded Heidelberg ( 1 1 5 5 ) . 

Struggle with the Lombard Cities. — The principal conflict of 
Frederick I. was in Italy, where he endeavored to restore the im- 
perial supremacy over the Lombard cities, which had grown pros- 
perous and freedom-loving, and were bent on managing their own 
municipal affairs. They had thrown off the rule of bishops and 
counts. The burghers of Milan, the principal town, had obliged 
the neighboring nobles and cities to form a league with them. The 
smaller cities, as Como and Lodi, preferred the emperor's control 
to being subject to Milan. Pavia clung to the empire. But most 
of the cities prized their independence and republican administra- 
tion. The Pope and the emperor were soon at variance, and the 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 2// 

cities naturally looked to the pontiff for sympathy and leadership. 
In 1 158 Frederick again crossed the Alps, bent on establishing the 
imperial jurisdiction as it had stood in the days of Charlemagne. 
The study of the Roman law was now pursued with enthusiasm at 
Bologna and Padua. At a great assembly in the Roncalian Fields, 
Frederick caused the prerogatives of the empire to be defined 
according to the terms of the civil law. The emperor was pro- 
claimed as "lord of the world," — dominus iniindi. In the room 
of the consuls, a Podesta was appointed as the chief officer in 
each city, to represent his authority. Milan, which had submitted, 
revolted, but, after a siege of two years, was forced to surrender, 
and was destroyed, at the emperor's command, by the inhabitants 
of the neighboring cities (1162). In 1159 Alexander III. was 
elected Pope by a majority of the cardinals. Victor IV. was 
chosen by the imperial party, and was recognized at a council con- 
vened by Frederick at Pavia. On the death of Victor, another 
anti-pope, Paschal III, was elected in his place ; and, on the 
fourth visit of Frederick to Italy (1166-1168), he conducted Pas- 
chal to Rome. In 1167 the cities of Northern Italy, which main- 
tained their cause with invincible spirit, united in the Lombard 
League. They built the strongly fortified place, Alessandria, — 
named after the Pope, — and took possession of the passes of the 
Alps. The emperor, whose army was nearly destroyed by a pes- 
tilence at Rome, escaped, with no litde difficulty and danger, to 
Germany. 

Frederick I. and Pope Alexander III. — For nearly seven years 
Frederick remained in Germany. He put an end to a violent feud 
which had been raging between Hemj the Lion and his enemies 
(1168). In 1 1 74 he was ready to resume his great Italian enter- 
prise. But he did not succeed in taking Alessandria. All his 
efforts to induce Henry the Lion to come to his support failed. 
He was consequently defeated in the batde of Legnano (11 76). 
The extraordinary abilities and indefatigable energy of the great 
emperor had been exerted in the vain effort, as he himself now 
perceived it to be, to break down the resistance of a free people to 
a system which they felt to be an obsolete despotism. A reconcili- 
ation took place at Venice in 1177 between Pope Alexander III. 
and Frederick, in which the latter virtually gave up the plan which 
he had so long struggled to realize. It was a day of triumph for 
the Papacy. At Constance, in 1183, a treaty was made with the 
Lombard cities, in which their self-government was substantially 
conceded, with the right to fortify themselves, and to levy armies, 
and to extend the bounds of their confederacy. The overlordship 
of the emperor was recognized. There was to be an imperial 
judge in each town, to whom appeals in the most important causes 
might be made. The " regalian rights " to forage, food, and 



2/8 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

lodging for the emperor's army, when within their territory, were 
reduced to a definite form. The cities grew stronger from their 
newly gained freedom ; yet the loss of imperial restraint was, on 
some occasions, an evil. 

Frederick in Germany. — After his return to Germany, Frederick 
deprived He/iry the Lion of his lands ; and when Henry craved 
his forgiveness at the Diet of Erfurt in 1 1 8 1 , he was allowed to 
retain Brunswick and Lilneburg. He was to live for three years, 
with his wife and child, at the court of his father-in-law, Henry II., 
king of England. His son William, born there, is the ancestor 
of the present royal family in England. In 1184 the emperor, 
in honor of his sons, King Henry, and Frederick, duke of Swabia, 
who were of age to become knights, celebrated at Mentz a mag- 
nificent festival, where a great throng of attendants was gathered 
from far and near. In a last and peaceful visit to Italy, his son 
Henry was married to Constance, the daughter of Roger II., and 
the heiress of the Norman kingdom of Lower Italy and Sicily. 

Third Crusade (1189-1192). — The old emperor now under- 
took another Crusade (i 189), in which he was supported by Philip 
II. (^Philip Augustus'), king of France, and Pichard the Lion- 
Hearted {Cceur- de-Lion), king of England, but of French de- 
scent. Having spent the winter at Adrianople, Frederick crossed 
into Asia Minor, and conquered Iconiuni. In his advance he 
showed a military skill and a valor which made the expedition a 
memorable one ; but at the river Calycadnus in Cilicia, either while 
bathing or attempting to cross on horseback, the old warrior was 
swept away by the stream, and drowned (1190). His %oxv Fred- 
erick died during the siege of Acre. Richard and Philip quarreled, 
before and after reaching Acre, which surrendered in 1 191. Philip 
returned to France. Richard, with all his valor, was twice com- 
pelled to turn back from Jerusalem. Nothing was accomplished 
except the establishment of a truce with Saladin, by which a strip 
of land on the coast, from Joppa to Acre, was given to the Chris- 
tians, and pilgrimages to the holy places were allowed. Richard 
was distinguished both for his deeds of arms and for his cruelty. 
On his return, he was kept as a prisoner by Leopold, duke of Austria, 
by the direction of the emperor, Henry VI., for thirteen months, 
and released on the payment of a ransom, and rendering homage. 
He was charged with treading the German banner in the filth at 
Acre. His alliance with the IVelfs in Germany is enough to explain 
the hostility felt towards him by the imperial party. 

Henry VI.: Pope Innocent III. — Henry VI. (1190-1197) had 
the prudence and vigor of his father, but lacked his magnanimity. 
He was hard and stern in his temper. Twice he visited Italy to 
conquer the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the inheritance of his 
wife. He waged a new war with Henry the Lion (1192-1194), 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 2/9 

which ended in a marriage of Agnes, the emperor's cousin, with 
Henry, the son of Henry. It was a project of the emperor to 
convert Germany and Italy, with Sicily, into a hereditary mon- 
archy ; but the princes would not consent. He aspired to incor- 
porate the Eastern Empire in the same dominion. While engaged 
in strife with the aged Pope, Ccekstin II., respecting the Tuscan 
lands of Matilda, which she had bequeathed to the Church, the 
emperor suddenly died. His son Frederick was a boy only three 
years old. On the death of Cxlestin 11. , early in 1198, Innocent 
III, the ablest and most powerful of all the popes, acceded to 
the pontifical chair. Innocent was a statesman of unsurpassed 
sagacity and energy. He was imbued with the highest idea of the 
pontifical dignity. He made his authority felt and feared in all 
parts of Christendom. He exacted submission from all rulers, 
civil and ecclesiastical. The Empress Constance, in order to 
secure Italy for Frederick, accepted the papal investment on con- 
ditions dictated by the Pope. After her death Innocent ruled 
Italy in the character of guardian of her son. He dislodged the 
imperial vassals from the Tuscan territory of Matilda, and thus 
became a second founder of the papal state. 

Fourth Crusade (1202-1204). — Under the auspices of Inno- 
cetit III., a Crusade was undertaken by French barons, with whom 
were associated Baldwin, count of Flanders, and Boniface, marquis 
of Montferrat. Arrived at Venice, the crusaders were not able to 
furnish to the Venetians the sum agreed to be paid for their trans- 
portation. The Venetiaiis, whose devotion was strongly tempered 
with the mercantile spirit, under the old doge, Henry Dandolo, 
greatly to the displeasure of the Pope, persuaded them to assist in 
the capture of Zara, which the king of Hungary had wrested from 
Venice. Then, at the call of Alexius, son of the Eastern emperor, 
Isaac Angelus, they went with the Venetian fleet to Constantinople, 
and restored these princes to the throne. The result of the con- 
tentions that followed with the Greeks was the pillage of Constan- 
tinople, and the establishment of the Latin Empire under Baldwin. 
Principalities were carved out for different chiefs ; the Venetians 
taking several Greek coast towns, and afterwards Candia (Crete). 
The patriarch of Constantinople had to take his pallium from 
Rome. The Latin service was established in the churches. There 
was no real union between the Greeks and the invaders, but con- 
stant strife, until, in 1261, Michael Falcsologiis,,t\ve head of a 
Greek empire which had been established at Niccea, put an end to 
the Latin kingdom. 

Children's Crusade. — The failure of the stupenduous under- 
takings for the conquest of the infidels was attributed to the 
wicked wrangles, and still more to the vicious lives, of the cru- 
saders, whose defeat was regarded as indicative of the frown of 



280 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Heaven on their evil courses. This feeling gave occasion to the 
Children's Crusade, in 121 2. Many thousands of French and 
German boys made their way, in two distinct expeditions, to 
Marseilles and the seaports of Italy, in order to be conveyed 
thence to the Holy Land. But few returned : nearly all perished 
by the way, or were seized, and carried off to slave-markets. The 
enterprise grew out of a wild construction of the injunction of 
Jesus to let little children come to him. 

Otto IV. : Civil War in Germany. — Frederick had been elected 
king ; but, on the death of his father, his claims were disregarded. 
The Hohenstaiifeiis chose Philip, brother of Henry VI. : the 
Welfs appointed Otto, the second son of Henry the Lion. Inno- 
cent claimed the right, not to appoint the emperor, but to decide 
between the rival claimants. He decided, in 1201, in favor of Otto 
IV. (1198-1214). Philip's party, however, seemed likely to suc- 
ceed ; but, in 1 208, he was murdered. Otto, having made large 
promises of submission to the Pope's requirements, was crowned 
emperor, and universally acknowledged. When he failed to fulfill 
his pledges, and began to assert the old imperial prerogatives in 
Italy, he was excommunicated and deposed by Innocent (1210). 

Frederick (II.) made King. — Innocent was now led to take 
up the cause of young Frederick (121 2). The latter won Ger- 
many over to his side, and received the German crown at Aix- 
la-Chapelle in 12 15. Otto was restricted to his ancestral territory 
in Brunswick. 

Character of Frederick II. (1214-1250). — Frederick II., on 
account of his extraordinary natural gifts and his accomplishments, 
was called the wonder of the world. He knew several languages, 
and, in intercourse with the Saracens in Sicily, had acquired a famil- 
iarity with the sciences. In many of his ideas of government he 
was in advance of his time. But his reign was largely spent in a 
contest with the Lombard cities and with the popes. He is styled 
by an eminent modern historian, " the gay, the brave, the wise, the 
relentless, and the godless Frederick." He was often charged with 
skepticism in relation to the doctrines of the Church. The main 
ground of this imputation seems to have been a temper of mind 
at variance with the habit of the age, : — a very moderate degree of 
reverence for ecclesiastical authority, and the absence of the usual 
antipathy to heresy and religious dissent. 

Fifth Crusade (1228-1229). — Having caused his son Nenry io 
be elected king of Rome, Frederick, in 1220, left Germany for fif- 
teen years. It was the policy of the popes to keep the Sicilian 
crown from being united with the empire, and the emperor from 
gaining the supremacy in Lombardy. Frederick, at his coronation 
at Aix, and afterwards, had engaged to undertake a crusade. But 
he had postiX)ned it from time to time. Pope Honorius III. had 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 281 

patiently borne with this delay. But when Frederick, in 1227, was 
about to start, and was prevented, as he professed, by the con- 
tagious disease in his army, from which he himself was suffering, 
Gregory IX., the next pope, placed him under the ban of the 
Church. Nevertheless, the emperor, in the following year, em- 
barked on his crusade. His vigor as a soldier, and, stili more, his 
tact in conciliating the Saracens, enabled him to get possession of 
Jerusalem. No bishop would crown an excommunicate, and he 
had to put the crown on his own head. That he left a mosque 
unmolested was a fresh ground of reproach. He negotiated an 
armistice with the sultan, Kameel (El Kamil), who ceded Naza- 
reth and a strip of territory reaching to the coast, together with 
Sidon. Fifteen years later (in 1 244) y^rz^i'a/ifw was finally lost 
by the Christians. 

Contest of Frederick with the Popes. — On his return to Italy, 
Frederick drove the papal troops out of Apulia. In a personal 
interview with Gregory IX. at San Germano, a treaty was made 
between them, the ban was removed, and the treaty of Frederick 
with the Sultan was sanctioned by the Pope. Frederick now dis- 
played his talent for organization in all parts of his empire. His 
constitution for the Sicilian kingdom, based on the ruins of the old 
feudalism, is tinged with the modern political spirit. His court, 
wherever he sojourned, mingled an almost Oriental luxury and splen- 
dor with the attractioi\s of poetry and song. A sore trial was the 
revolt of his son Hemy (1234), whom he conquered, and confined 
in a prison, where he died in 1242. The efforts of Frederick to 
enforce the imperial supremacy over the Lombard cities were 
met with the same stubborn resistance from the Guelfs which his 
grandfather had encountered. In 1237 he gained a briUiant vic- 
tory over them at Cortenuova. But the hard terms on which Fred- 
erick insisted, in connection with other transactions offensive to 
the Pope, called out another excommunication from Gregory IX. 
(1239). The Genoese fleet, which was conveying ecclesiastics to 
a council called by the Pope ac Rome, was captured by direction 
of Frederick; and the prelates were thrown into prison. Pope 
Innocent IV. (i 243-1 254) fled to Lyons, and there published 
anevv^ the ban against the emperor, declared him deposed, and 
summoned the Germans to elect another emperor in his place. 
The ecclesiastical princes in Germany chose Hen7j Raspe (1246- 
1247), landgrave of Thuringia, who was defeated by Conrad, 
Henry's son. The next emperor thus chosen, William of Holland 
(1247), made no headway in Germany. During this period of 
civil war, many German cities gained their freedom from episcopal 
rule, attained to great privileges, and came into an immediate 
relation to the emperor. A fearful war raged in Italy between the 
Guelfs and Ghibellines, in the midst of which Frederick died, in 



282 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

the fifty-sixth year of his age. Had he been as conscientious and 
as capable of curbing his passions and appetites as he was highly 
endowed in other respects, he might have been a model ruler. As 
it was, although his career was splendid, his private life, as well as 
his public conduct, was stained with flagrant faults. 

The Sicilian Kingdom. — The kingdom of the Two Sicilies was 
bravely defended by Man/ird, son of Frederick II., in behalf of 
young Conradin, the son of the new emperor, Conrad IV. The 
Pope gave the crown to Charles of Anjou, brother oi Louis IX. of 
France. Charles, after the fall of Manfred at Beneventum (i 266), 
gained the kingdom. Conradin went to Italy, but was defeated 
and captured in 1268, and was executed at Naples. Such was the 
tragic end of the last of the Hohenstaufens. The unbearable tyr- 
anny of the French led to a conspiracy called the Sicilian Vespers 
(1282); and, at Easter Monday, at vesper time, the rising took 
place. All the French in Sicily were massacred. Feter ofArago?i, 
who had married the daughter of Manfred, became king of Sicily. 
The dominion of Charles of Anjou was restricted to Naples. 

Spain. — The Spaniards had a crusade to carry forward in their 
own land, which lasted for eight hundred years. In the tenth and 
eleventh centuries, especially vsiAtx Abdei^rahman III. (912-961), 
the Moorish civilization was most briUiant. In Cordova, there 
were six hundred mosques. There were said to be seventeen uni- 
versities and seventy large libraries in Spair^. The caliph's fleets 
were dominant in the Mediterranean. He was mild in his policy 
towards Jews and Christians. In the eleventh century the caliphs 
gave themselves up to luxury, and the control of their forces was 
in the hands of the viziers. Of these, Almanzor, the general of 
Hakem II. (976-1013), was the most famous. He took the city 
of Leon, and plundered the church of St. James of Compostella, 
the patron saint of Spain. After this time the caliphate of Cor- 
dova broke up into numerous kingdoms. The Christian Visigoths 
in the north-west had built up the little kingdom of Oviedo, which 
later took the name of Leon. The rest of Christian Spain was 
united under Sancho the Great (970-1035). To one of his sons, 
Ferdinand I., he left Castile, to which Leon and the Asturias were 
united ; to another, Aragon ; and, to a third, Navarre and Biscay. 
It was under Ferdinand that the exploits of the Spanish hero, the 
Cid {Rodrigo Diaz of Bivar), in conflict with the infidels, began. 
The complete conquest of the Moors was prevented by the strife 
of the Christian kingdoms with one another. Under Alfonso VI. 
(1072-1109), they were all once more united. 

Great Defeat of the Moors. — The invasion of the Almoravids, 
invited over from Africa by the Mussulman princes ( 1086), checked 
the progress of the Christian conquest. These allies of the Arabs 
built up a kingdom for themselves, reconquered Valencia, and 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 283 

taxed to the utmost the power of the Christians to resist their 
progress. New sects of fanatical Moslems, the Almohads, having 
conquered Morocco, passed over into Spain. The Mohammedans 
were thus at war among themselves, and were divided into three 
parties. Mihtary orders were established in Spain ; and the kings 
of Castile, Leon, and Navarre, aided by sixty thousand crusaders 
from Germany, France, and Italy, defeated Mohammed, the chief 
of the Almohads, with great slaughter, in a decisive battle near 
Tolosa (12 12). The Spanish crusade built up the little kingdom 
of Portugal, and the states of Castile and of Aragon. They were 
destined to play an important part in the history of commerce and 
discovery. The Spanish character owed some of its marked traits 
to this prolonged struggle with the Moslems. 

The Mongolian Invasions. — At the beginning of the thirteenth 
century, Genghis Khan, the leader of Mongolian hordes which 
roamed over the Asiatic plateau between China and Siberia, con- 
quered China, and overthrew the ruling dynasty. He subdued 
Hindustan and the empire of the Chowares, which had been 
founded by a Seljukian slave, and spread his power from the Cas- 
pian Sea through Persia to India (1218). Bokhara and Samar- 
cand were among the populous cities which were burned with all 
their treasures by these ruthless invaders. Libraries were con- 
verted into stalls for the horses of the brutal conquerors. The 
sons and successors of Genghis Khan swept over the countries 
north of the Black Sea, captured Moscow and Kiev, burned Cra- 
cow, and pursued their murderous and devastating path over 
Poland and Hungary. At the battle of Wahlstatt (1241), the 
Germans under Henry the Pious, duke of Liegnitz, were defeated. 
The victories of the Tartars were frightful massacres. It was a 
custom of the Mongols to cut off an ear of the slaughtered enemy. 
It was said that at Liegnitz these trophies filled nine sacks. The 
Mongol hosts retired from Europe. They attacked the caliphate 
of Bagdad, a city which they took by storm, and plundered for forty 
days. They destroyed the dynasty of the Abassids. They marched 
into Syria, stormed and sacked Aleppo, and captured Damascus. 
For a time the central point of the Tartar conquests was the city 
or camping-ground of Karakorum in Central Asia. After a few 
generations their empire was broken in pieces. The " Golden 
Horde," which they had planted in Russia, on the east of the 
Volga, remained there for two centuries. Bagdad was held by 
the Mongols until 1400, when it was conquered, and kept for a 
short time, by Tamerlane. 

The religion of the Tartars was either Lamaism — a corrupted 
form of Buddhistic belief and worship, ^ or Mohammedanism. In 
China and Mongolia they were Lamaists : elsewhere they gen- 
erally adopted the faith of Islam. Their original religion was 
Shamaism, a worship of spirits, akin to fetichism. 



284 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

The later Mongol sovereigns, especially Kublai Khan, were 
ready to promote peaceful intercourse with Europe. It was at 
this time that Marco Polo resided at their court. 

Sixth Crusade (1248-1254): Seventh Crusade (1270). — Two 
additional Crusades were undertaken under t^ e leadership of that 
upright and devout king, Louis IX. of France. The first ( 1 248- 
1254) resulted in the taking of Damietta in Egypt (1249) ; but 
the next year Louis, with his whole army, was captured, and 
obtained his release after much delay, by the surrender of his con- 
quests, and in return for a large ransom. Not disheartened by 
this failure, the pious monarch, in 1270, sailed to Tunis, where he 
and most of his army perished from sickness. In 1291 Acre, the 
last town held by the Christians, was taken by the Egyptian Mame- 
lukes ; and the Crusades came to an end. 

Effects of the Crusades. — The Crusades were a spontaneous 
movement of Christian Europe. It was a great tide, which bore 
away all classes of people. It lends to the Middle Ages an ideal 
and heroic character. An overpowering sentiment, submerging 
calculation and self-interest, swept over society. There was infi- 
nite suffering : countless lives were the forfeit. The results, how- 
ever, were beneficent, i. It is true that the conquests made in 
the East were all surrendered. The holy places were given up. 
Yet the Tui-ks had received a check which was a protection to 
Europe during the period when its monarchies were forming, and 
were gaining the force to encounter them anew, and repel their dan- 
gerous aggressions. 2. The Feudal System in Europe was smitten 
with a mortal blow. Smaller fiefs, either by sale or by the death 
of the holders, were swallowed up in the larger. The anarchical 
spirit was counteracted. Political tmity was promoted. 3. There 
was a lessening of the social distance between suzerain and serf. 
They fought side by side, and aided one another in common 
perils. The consequence was an increase of sympathy. 4. There 
was an expansio7i of knowledge. There was a widening of geo- 
graphical knowledge. An acquaintance was gained with other 
peoples and countries. To the more civilized Saracens, the cru- 
saders seemed brutal and barbarous. The crusaders in turn were 
impressed with the superior advancement and elegance of the Sara- 
cens. It was not the lord only who beheld distant lands : the serf 
was taken from the soil to which he had been tied. He drew 
stimulus and information from sojourning under other skies. 5. A 
great impulse was given to trade and commerce. An acquaintance 
was gained with new products, natural and artificial. New wants 
were created. 6. The cities advanced in strength and wealth. 
Important social consequences resulted from their growth. 

Why the Crusades Terminated. — After the thirteenth cen- 
tury it was impossible to rekindle the crusading enthusiasm. The 



THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. 285 

fire had burned out. It seemed as if the idea had exhausted 
itself in action. This effect was due, ( i ) to the absence of novelty 
in such undertakings; (2) to the long experience of the hard- 
ships belonging to them, which tended to dampen the romantic 
zeal that had formed a part of the motive ; (3) to the disappoint- 
ments following upon the practical failure of so prodigious and 
costly exertions ; (4) to an altered condition of public feeling of 
a more general character. Antipathy to the infidel, the more 
exclusive sway of religious sentiment, were giving way to a min- 
gling of secular aims and interests. There were new and wider 
fields of activity at home. The mood of men's minds was no 
longer the same. 

Luxuries introduced by the Crusades. — The effect of the Crusades 
in bringing in new comforts and luxuries, and in thus altering the style of 
living, was remarkable. At the very outset, a great deal of money, obtained 
by the sale or pawning of estates, was spent in the outfit of the hundred 
thousand nobles, who, at the beginning, took the cross. Costly furs, em- 
broidered cushions, curtains of purple dye, pavilions worked with gold, 
banners of purple or of cloth-of-gold, showy costumes, and shining armor, — 
such was the splendor that met the eyes of thousands who had never before 
beheld such a spectacle. The journey to the East brought under the observa- 
tion of the crusaders, arts and fashions to which they had been strangers. 
They saw the gilded domes and marble palaces of Constantinople, and the 
treasures of ancient art which had been gathered within the walls of that 
ancient capital. Antioch, with all its wealth, fell into their hands. Later, 
the. merchants of both religions follov/ed in the wake of the armies, and met 
one another. The superb fabrics of the East were carried to the West by 
routes which now became safe and familiar. The precious ores and tissues 
of Damascus, and the beautiful glassware of Tyre, were conveyed to Venice, 
and thence to places more distant. Silk stuffs of exquisite beauty were 
brought from Mosul and Alexandria. The elegance of the East, with its 
rich fabrics, its jewels and pearls, was so enchanting that an enthusiastic 
crusader termed it "the vestibule of Paradise." It was not the nobles alone 
in the West who acquired these attractive products of skill and industry. 
The cities shared in them. Even the lower classes partook of the change in 
the way of living. 

Life in the Castle. — Even in the earlier days of feudalism, the seclu- 
sion of the castle was not without an influence in promoting domestic inter- 
course and affection. A new sentiment respecting woman sprang up in the 
Middle Ages, and was fostered by the honor which the New Testament and 
the teaching of the Church rendered to saintly women. A spirit of gallantry 
and devotion to woman, partly natural to the Germanic race, and partly 
arising from causes like that just named, sprang up in the midst of prevailing 
ignorance and perpetual strife. In the course of the twelfth and thirteenth 
centuries life in the castle is found to be very much improved. In the 
eleventh century it lacked comfort, to say nothing of luxury. The lights 
were torches of dry wood : even candles were not in general use. Houses 
in France, England, and Germany commonly had thatched roofs. They 
were made of logs covered with a sort of clay or mud. They were built 
with low and narrow doors, and with small windows which admitted but little 
light. In the middle of the smoky hall was a large, round fireplace. There 
was no chimney, but only a funnel, which pierced the ceiling. The seats 
were benches and stools. The feet of the family and guests were kept warm 
by hay spread beneath them. In the later period the substitution of dry 



286 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

rushes and straw was thought to be a marvelous gain. Beds of straw were 
introduced into all the apartments of nobles, and even of kings. To sleep 
on a straw couch was deemed a regal luxury. One consequence of the Cru- 
sades was to introduce carpets and hangings into the dwellings of the great. 
Improved timepieces took the place of the water-clocks, which were a wonder 
in the days of Charlemagne. In the twelfth century the castle begins to look 
less like a dungeon. Within and without, it ceases to wear so exclusively 
the aspect of a fortress. The furniture has more beauty. In the great hall 
are the large tables attached to the floor, the sideboards, the cupboards, the 
stately chair of the lord, the couch with its canopy, the chests for the wearing- 
apparel, the armor on the walls. In the thirteenth century France was 
covered with chateaux, which, in the case of princes and nobles of highest 
rank, had their spacious courts, their stables, their lodgings for the servants. 
All these were within the precincts of the palace. In the great hall were 
held the assemblies of vassals, banquets, judicial trials. In the wealthiest 
mansions, there was a main saloon on the floor above, reached by a spiral 
stairway, and serving also for the principal bed-chamber. There the stone 
floor gave place to marble of varied colors. Mosaics and other ornaments 
were introduced. Sculptures, carvings, and mural paintings decorated the 
apartments. Glass mirrors, imported by way of Venice, began to supersede 
the mirrors of polished metal. Larger windows, of painted glass, became 
common among the rich, in the room of the small pieces of glass, or of ala- 
baster, which had before served to let in a few rays of light. Tallow candles 
came into vogue. Lamps were not unknown. On great occasions, lanterns 
and wax candles were used for a festive illumination. Chimneys were in use, 
and about the vast fire-place the family group could gather. The hospitality 
of the castle was often bountiful. The chase, the favorite amusement, gave 
life and animation to the scene, and prepared the inmates for the feast that 
followed. Minstrels enlivened the social gathering. Troops of mounte- 
banks and buffoons furnished amusement, and were sometimes lavishly 
rewarded. There were singers and buffoons who were attached permanently 
to the household. There were others who traveled from place to place, 
and were even organized into corporations or guilds. The fool, or jester, to 
whom a large license was allowed, was long deemed a necessary adjunct of 
the castle-hall. Carriages were little used; rank was indicated by the 
accouterments of the war-horse or of the palfrey. From the twelfth century 
onward, the improvement in the comforts of living was not confined to the 
nobles and to rich burghers in cities. It was shared by the rural classes, 
notwithstanding the miseries — such as insecurity, and dangers of famine — 
that belonged to their condition. 

Poverty and Disease. — A French writer on the history of luxury, speaking of France 
in this period, says, " In the cities, we meet at once lu.\ury, certain beginnings of prosperity, 
and frightful misery. Beggary exists in a form the most hideous: there is an organization 
of it with grades, and a sort of hierarchy. In the face of sumptuous costumes, of chateaux 
better adorned, of the nascent wealth of industry, France included more than two thousand 
lepers, and knew not how to treat maladies born of the most imperfect hygiene and the most 
sordid filth. Such were the extremes. The course of general progress went forward between 
them." The condition of the poorest class in England was no better. " The absence of vege- 
table food for the greater part of the year, the personal dirt of the people, the sleeping at night 
in the clothes worn in the day, and other causes, made skin-diseases frightfully common. At 
the outskirts of every town in England, there were crawling about emaciated creatures covered 
with loathsome sores, living Heaven knows how. They were called by the common name of 
lepers; and probably the leprosy, strictly so called, was awfully common." Such being the 
life of the poor in villages, and in the absence of drainage and other modern safeguards of 
health, in large towns, it is no wonder that in the Middle Ages there were terrible pestilences, 
and that the average length of life was much less than at present. 



CHIVALRY AND KNIGHTHOOD. 286 a 

Origin and Nature of Chivalry. — It was in the period of the 
crusades that the mediaeval institution of chivalry was ennobled 
by receiving a religious consecration. Chivalry is a compre- 
hensive term, denoting a system of ideas and customs that pre- 
vailed in the middle ages. In the western kingdoms of Europe 
there was gradually formed a distinct class of warriors of supe- 
rior rank, who fought on horseback, and were recognized as 
knights by a ceremony of equipment with arms. Among the 
customs of the ancient Germans, which are noticed by Tacitus, 
and in which may be discovered the germs of chivalry, are 
the remarkable deference paid to woman, attendance of the as- 
piring youth on a military superior, — out of which vassalship 
arose, — and the formal receiving of arms on reaching manhood. 
At the outset, knighthood was linked to feudal service : the 
knights were landholders. In the age of Charlemagne, the war- 
riors on horseback — the caballarii — were the precursors, both 
in name and function, of the chevaliers of later times. The 
word knight, meaning a youth or servant, and then a military 
attendant, came to be a term of equivalent meaning. The ne- 
cessary connection of knighthood with the possession of fiefs 
was broken in the thirteenth century, through changes in the 
circumstances of warfare. Knighthood became independent of 
feudalism. It was a personal distinction, frequently bestowed 
as a reward for brave deeds, and often conferred with elaborate 
ceremonies, partly of a religious character. When the boy of 
gentle birth passed from under the care of females, he first 
served as a page or valet at the court of a prince or the castle 
of a rich noble. Having been thus trained in habits of courtesy 
and obedience, he was advanced, not earlier than the age of 
fourteen, to the rank of squire, and instructed in horsemanship 
and in the use of weapons. He followed his master to the tour- 
nament and in battle, until finally he was himself dubbed a 
knight, was clothed in armor of steel, and took on him all the 
obligations and privileges of his order. The introduction of 
hereditary surnames and of armorial bearings served to distin- 
guish the members of this order. He who was a knight in one 
place was a knight everywhere. 

There were different classes of knights. The "bachelor," 
who bore a forked pennon, was below the " knight-banneret," 
who alone had the right to carry the square banner. The ban- 
neret was required to have a certain estate, and to be able to 
bring into the field a certain number of lances, /. e.y. inferior 
knights with their men-at-arms and foot-soldiers. Each knight 
was accompanied by his squire and personal attendants. Not 
seldom two knights joined together in a brotherhood in arms, 
pledging themselves to sustain each other in every peril. 



2^6 b MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

The Virtues of Knighthood. — There were characteristic ob- 
ligations of Ivnighthood. One was loyalty, which included a 
strict fidelity to all pledges, embracing promises made to an 
enemy. Another knightly virtue was courtesy, which was exer- 
cised even towards a foe. The spirit of gallantry, inspiring 
devotion to woman, especially the chosen object of love, and pro- 
tection to womanly weakness, was always a cardinal trait of the 
chivalric temper. Cotirage, which delighted in daring exploits, 
and sought fields for the exercise of personal prowess, was 
an indispensable quality of the knights. The ideal of chivalry 
was honor rather than benevolence. The influence of chivalry 
in refining manners was very great ; but, especially in its period 
of decline, it allowed or brought in much cruelty and profligacy. 
Its distinctive spirit could find room for exercise only amid 
conflict and bloodshed, which it naturally tended to promote. 

Ceremonies of Investiture. — When the knight was created accord- 
ing to the complete form, he entered into a bath on the evening previous, 
was instructed by old knights in " the order and feats " of chivalry, was 
then clad in white and russet, like a hermit, passed the night in the chapel in 
" orisons and prayers," and at daybreak confessed to the priest, and received 
the sacrament. He then returned to his chamber. At the appointed hour 
he was conducted to the hall, where he received the spurs and was girded 
with the sword by the prince or other lord who was to confer the distinction, 
by whom he was smitten on the shoulder and charged to be " a good knight." 
Thence he was escorted to the chapel, where he swore on the altar to defend 
the church, and his sword was consecrated. 

Judicial Combats. — The disposition to resort to single combats as a 
judicial test of guilt or innocence was stimulated by the development of 
chivalry. There were other ordeals long in vogue, by which it was thought 
that Heaven would interpose miraculously to shield, and thus to vindicate, 
the innocent, and to expose the criminal. Such were the plunging of the 
hand into boiling water, the contact of the flesh with red-hot iron or with 
fire, the lot, the oath taken on holy relics, the reception of the Eucharist, 
which would choke the perjurer, and send his soul to perdition. The 
ordeals were regulated and managed by the clergy. Among the German, and 
also the Celtic tribes, there are traces of the duel between combatants, for 
purposes of divination, or of determining on which side in a controversy 
the right lay. The judicial combat in mediaeval Europe became general. 
Champions, in cases where the rights of women were in debate, and in 
other instances where the wager of battle between the direct antagonists in 
a dispute was impracticable, were selected, or volunteered, to try the issue 
in an armed conflict. Sometimes professional champions, hired for the 
occasion, were employed. The custom of judicial combats by degrees de- 
clined. The municipalities and the spirit of commerce were averse to it. 
It was opposed by the Emperor Frederic II. and by Louis IX. of France. 
The influence of the Roman law helped to undermine it ; but the opposition 
of the Church was the most effectual agency in doing away with it. The 
modern duel, which survived the judicial combat, is a relic of the ancient 
custom of avenging private injuries, and of proving the courage of the 
combatants between whom a quarrel had arisen. In the opening of Shake- 
speare's play of Richard II., in the quarrel of Mowbray and Bolingbroke, 
the idea of the judicial combat mingles with the motives and feelings 
characteristic of the duel when stripped of its religious aspect. 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 



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ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 289 



CHAPTER III. 

ENGLAND AND FRANCE : THE FIRST PERIOD OF THEIR 
RIVALSHIP (1066-1217). 

The emperors, the heads of the Holy Roman Empire, were 
the chief secular rulers in the Middle Ages, and were in theory 
the sovereigns of Christendom. But in the era of the Crusades, the 
kingdoms of England and France began to be prominent. In them, 
moreover, we see beginnings of an order of things not embraced 
in the mediaeval system. In France, steps are taken towards a com- 
pact monarchy. In England, there are laid the foundations of 
free representative government. 

Connection of England and Prance. — For a long time the for- 
tunes of England and of France are linked together. The kings 
of the French, with their capital at Paris, had been often obliged 
to contend with their powerful liegemen, the dukes of Normandy, 
at Roue?t. When the Norman duke became king of England, he 
had an independent dominion added to the great fief on the other 
side of the channel. It sometimes looked as if England and France 
would be united under one sovereignty, so close did their relations 
become. 

Death of ■William the Conqueror. — It was while William the 
Conqueror, angry with the king of the French, was burning Mantes, 
in the border-land between Normandy and France, that, by the 
stumbling of his horse in the ashes, he was thrown forward upon the 
iron pommel of his saddle, and received the hurt which ended, in 
the next month, in his death (Sept., 1087). On his death-bed he 
was smitten with remorse for his unjust conquest of England, and 
for his bloody deeds there. He would not dare to appoint a suc- 
cessor : it belonged, he said, to the Almighty to do that ; but he 
hoped that his son William might succeed him. The burial ser- 
vice at Caen, in the church which he had built, was interrupted by 
Ascelin, a knight, who raised his voice to protest against the inter- 
ment, for the reason that the duke had wrongfully seized from his 
father the ground on which the church stood. The family of 
William made a settlement with Ascelin on the spot by paying a 
sum of money, and the service proceeded. The whole ground 
was afterwards paid for. William had left money for the rebuilding 
of the churches which he had burned at Af antes. He gave his 
treasures to the poor and to the churches in his dominions. These 
circumstances illustrate in a striking way how, in the Middle Ages, 
ruthless violence was mingled with power of conscience and a 
sense of righteous obligation. 

William Rufus. — William the Conqueror was succeeded by his 
son, William Rufus (108 7-1 100), who was as able a man as his 



290 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

father. He promised to be liberal, and to lay no unjust taxes ; but 
he proved to be — especially after the death of the good Lan/ranc, 
the archbishop of Canterbury — a vicious and irreligious king. 
The Norman nobles would have preferred to have his brother 
Robert, who was duke of Normandy, for their king ; but the English 
stood by William. He left bishoprics and abbacies vacant that he 
might seize the revenues. One of his good deeds was the appoint- 
ment of the holy and learned Anselm to succeed Lanfranc; but 
he quarreled with Anselm, who withdrew from the kingdom. Nor- 
mandy, which he had tried to wrest from his elder brother Robei't, 
was mortgaged to him by the latter, in order that he might set out 
upon the first Crusade. That duchy came thus into the king's 
possession. William, while hunting in the New Forest, was killed, 
if not accidentally, then either, as it was charged, by Walter Tyrrel, 
one of the party, or by some one who had been robbed of his home 
when the New Forest was made. He was found in the agonies of 
death, pierced by an arrow shot from a cross-bow. 

Henry I. of England (1100-1135) : Louis VI. (the Fat) of France 
(1108-1137): Louis VIL (1137-1180). — Henry was the youngest 
son of the Conqueror. His wife was English, and was a great- 
granddaughter of Edmund Ironside. Her name was Edith, but 
she assumed the Norman name of Matilda. Her mother Mar- 
garet, wife of Malcolm of Scotland, was of the stock of the West 
Saxon kings. Thus the blood of Alfred, as well as of William the 
Conqueror, flowed in the veins of the later English kings. In the 
absence of his older brother Robert, who was in Jerusalem, he took 
the crown, and put forth a Charter of Liberties, promising the 
Church to respect its rights, and giving privileges to his vassals 
which they in turn were to extend to their own vassals. Robert 
came back from the Holy Land, and tried to wrest England from 
his brother. He failed in the attempt. After this, Henry got pos- 
session of Normandy by the victory of Tinchebrai in 1106, and 
kept Robert a prisoner in Cardiff Castle until his death (1135). 
Louis the Fat, king of France, espoused the cause of William of 
Clito, son of Robert, but was beaten in 1 1 19 at Brennevilk. Peace 
was made between the two kings ; but in 1124 Henry of England 
combined with his son-in-law, Hen7y V. of Germany, for the inva- 
sion of France. Louis called upon his vassals, who gathered in 
such force that the emperor abandoned the scheme. Louis then 
undertook to chastise those great vassals who had not responded 
to his summons. William, the duke of Aquitane, seeing the 
power of the suzerain, came into his camp, and offered him his 
homage. Louis inflicted a brutal punishment in Flanders, where 
the count, Charles the Good, had been assassinated in 1127, and 
which had failed to furnish its contingent in 11 24. He obliged 
the Flemish lords to elect as their count, William Clito, whose 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 29I 

rule, however, they presently cast off. Louis the Fat united his 
son Louis in marriage with Eleanor, the only daughter of Wil- 
liam (X.), the duke of Aquitaine, and thus paved the way for a 
direct control over the South. The duchy of Aquitaine included 
Gascon}' and other districts, and the suzerainty over Auverg?ie, 
Perigord, etc. Louis the VI L (i 137-1180) was not able to pre- 
serve the dominion, extending from the north to the south of 
France, which he inherited. He plunged into a dispute with Pope 
Innocent II. in relation to the church of Bourges, where he claimed 
the right to name the archbishop. St. Bernard took the side of 
the Pope. Siiger, abbot of St. Denis, an able minister, the coun- 
selor of the last king, supported Louis. The king attacked the 
lands of Theobahi of Champagne, who sided with the Pope, and in 
his wrath burned the parish church of Vitry, with hundreds of poor 
people who had taken refuge in it. His own remorse and the ex- 
communication of the Pope moved him to do penance by departing 
on a Crusade. Suger, not liking the risk which the monarchy in- 
curred through the absence of the king, opposed the project. St. 
Ber}iard encouraged it. The Crusade failed of any important 
result ; but it helped to infuse a national spirit into the French 
soldiers, who fought side by side with the army of the emperor, 
Conrad III. On his return, on the alleged ground that Eleanor 
was too near of kin, he divorced her, and rendered back her dowry 
(11-52). 

Louis VII. of Prance (1137-1180): Stephen (1135-1154) and 
Henry II. of England (1154-1189). — The king of England, Henry 
/., after the death of his son by shipwreck, declared his daughter 
Matilda his heir. She was the widow of He7iry K, the em- 
peror of Germany. In 1127 she married Geoffrey, count of 
Anjou, surnamed Plantagenet on account of his habit of wearing 
a sprig of broom {genet) in his bonnet. Henry left Matilda, 
whom he called the " Empress," under the charge of his nephew, 
Stephen of Blois, who got himself elected king by the barons or 
great landowners, — as there was no law regulating the succession 
of the crown, — and was crowned at Westminster. They had 
sworn, however, to support Matilda. Her uncle David, king of 
Scots, took up her cause ; but the Scots were defeated at the Battle 
of the Standard in 11 38. England was thrown into utter disorder 
by these circumstances : some of the barons fought on one side, 
and some on the other. There were thieves along the highways, 
and the barons in their castles were no better than the thieves. 
The empress landed in England in 11 39, to recover her rights. 
In the civil war that ensued, Stephen was taken prisoner (1141) ; 
but Matilda, whose imperious temper made her unpopular in 
London, was driven out of the city. Stephen was released in ex- 
change for the Earl of Gloucester. Matilda was at one time in 



292 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

great peril, but contrived to escape in a winter night from Oxford 
Castle (1142). In 1153 peace was made, by which Stephen was 
to retain the kingdom, but was to be succeeded by Matilda's eldest 
son. 

Cruelty of the Nobles. — In the time of Stephen and Matilda, 
the barons, released from the strong hand of his predecessor, were 
guilty of atrocities which made the people mourn the loss of Henry. 

" They built strong castles, and filled them with armed men. From these 
they rode out as robbers, as a wild beast goes forth from its den. 'They 
fought among themselves with deadly hatred, they spoiled the fairest lands 
with fire and rapine ; in what had been the most fertile of counties they 
destroyed almost all the provision of bread.' Whatever money or valuable 
goods they found, they carried off. They burnt houses and sacked towns. 
If they suspected any one of concealing his wealth, they carried him off to 
their castle ; and there they tortured him, to make him confess where his 
money was. ' They hanged up men by their feet, and smoked them with foul 
smoke. Some were hanged up by their thumbs, others by the head, and 
burning things were hung on to their feet. They put knotted strings about 
men's heads, and twisted them till they went to the brain. They put men 
into prisons where adders and snakes and toads were crawling, and so they 
tormented them. Some they put into a chest short and narrow, and not 
deep, and that had sharp stones within, and forced men therein so that they 
broke all their limbs. In many of the castles were hateful and grim things 
called rachenteges, which two or three men had enough to do to carry. It 
was thus made : it was fastened to a beam, and had a sharp iron to go about 
a man's neck and throat, so that he might noways sit or lie or sleep ; but he 
bore all the iron. Many thousands they starved with hunger.' The unhappy 
sufferers had no one to help them. Stephen and Matilda were too busy with 
their own quarrel to do justice to their subjects. Poor men cried to Heaven, 
but they got no answer. ' Men said openly that Christ and his saints were 
asleep.' " 

Dominions of Henry II. — Henry, the son of the empress and 
of Count Geoffrey of Anjou, was the first of the Angevin kings of 
England. They had Saxon blood in their veins, but were neither 
Norman nor Saxon, except in the female line. It was eighty-eight 
years since the Conquest ; and, although the higher classes talked 
French, almost every one of their number was of mixed descent. 
The line between Saxon and Norman was becoming effaced. A 
vassal of the king of France, Henry held so many fiefs that he 
was stronger than the king himself, and all the other crown vassals 
taken together. From his father he had Anjoii ; from his mother, 
Normandy and Maine ; the county of Poitou and the duchy of 
Aquitaine he received by Eleanor, the divorced wife of Louis 
VII., whom he married. Later, by marrying one of his sons to 
the heiress of Brittany, that district, the nominal fief of Nor- 
mandy, came practically under his dominion. He was a strong- 
willed man, who reduced the barons to subjection, and pulled 
down the castles which had been built without the king's leave. 
It might seem probable that the possessor of so great power would 
absorb the little monarchy of France. But this was prevented by 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 293 

long-continued discord in England, — discord in the royal family, 
between the king and the clergy, and, later, between the king and 
the barons. On the Continent, the king of England required a 
great and united force to break the feudal bonds which grew 
stronger between the king of France and the French provinces of 
England. We shall soon see how France enlarged her territory, 
and how the English dominion on the Continent was greatly re- 
duced. 

Reforms of Henry. — In order to control the barons, he ar- 
ranged with them to pay money in lieu of military service. In 
this way they were weakened. At the same time, he encouraged 
the small landowners to exercise themselves in arms, which would 
prepare them for self-defense and to assist the king. Moreover, 
he sent judges through the land to hear causes. They were to 
ask a certain number of men in the county as to the merits of 
the cases coming before them. These men took an oath to tell the 
truth. They gradually adopted the custom of hearing the evi- 
dence of others before giving to the judges their verdict, — that is, 
their declaration of the truth (from vere dictum). Out of this 
custom grew the jury system. 

Becket: Constitutions of Clarendon. — The Conqueror had 
granted to ecclesiastical courts the privilege of trying cases in 
which the clergy were concerned. On this privilege the clergy had 
been disposed to insist ever since the fall of the Roman Empire. 
Under Stephen the energetic restraint exercised upon them was 
removed. In the early years of the reign of Henry II., there were 
great disorders among the Norman clergy, and crimes were of 
frequent occurrence. These were often punished more lightly 
than the same offenses when committed by a layman, as church 
courts could not inflict capital punishment. Henry undertook 
to bring the clergy under the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts. 
In this attempt he was resisted by Thomas a Becket, who had 
been his chancelor, and whom he raised to the archbishopric of 
Canterbury (1162), in the full expectation of having his support. 
He had been gay and extravagant in his ways, and zealous in 
behalf of whatever the king wished. But the brilliant chancelor 
became a strict and austere prelate, the champion of the clergy, 
with a will as inflexible as that of Henry. The only bishop that 
voted against him at his election, remarked that " the king had 
worked a miracle in having that day turned a layman into an 
archbishop, and a soldier into a saint." In this controversy, the 
clergy had reason to fear that Henry, if he got the power, would 
use it to punish and plunder the innocent. At a great council of 
prelates and barons, the Constitutions of Clarendon were adopted 
(1164), which went far towards the subjecting of the ecclesias- 
tics, as to their appointment and conduct, to the royal will. 



294 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 



Becket, with the other prelates, swore to observe these statutes ; 
but he repented of the act, was absolved by the Pope from his 
oath, and fled to France. Later a reconciliation took place be- 
tween him and the king. Becket returned to England, but with 
a temper unaltered. A hasty expression of Henry, uttered in 
wrath, and indicating a desire to be rid of him, was taken up by 
four knights, who attacked the archbishop, and slew him, near 
the great altar in the cathedral at Canterbury (Dec. 29, 11 70). 
The higher nobles welcomed the occasion to revolt. Henry was 
regarded as the instigator of the bloody deed, and was moved to 
make important concessions to the Pope, Alexander III. His 
hfe was darkened by quarrels with his sons. In 1 1 73 the kings 
of France and Scotland, and many nobles of Normandy and Eng- 
land, joined hands with them. Henry, afflicted with remorse, 
did penance, allowing himself to be scourged by the monks at 
the tomb of Becket, or "St. Thomas," — for he was canonized. 
The people raUied to him, and the nobles were defeated. The 
rebellion came to an end. The king of Scotland became more 
completely the vassal of England. In another rebellion the king's 
sons rebefled against him: in 1189 John, the youngest of them, 
joined with his brother Richard. Then Henry's heart was broken, 
and he died. 

Conquest of Ireland. — In the first year of Henry's reign, he 
was authorized by Pope Hadrian IV. to invade Ireland. In 11 69 
Dermot of Leinster, a fugitive Irish king, undertook to enlist 
adventurers for this service. He was aided by Richard of Clare, 
earl of Pembroke,, called Strongbow, and others. They were 
successful ; and in 1 1 7 1 Henry crossed over to Ireland, and was 
acknowledged as sovereign by all the chiefs of the South. A 
synod brought the Irish Church into subjection to the see of Can- 
terbury. But there was constant warfare, and the North and East 
of the island were not subdued. The whole country was not con- 
quered until Elizabeth'' s time, four centuries later. 

Weakening of Great Vassals in France. — The weakening of 
Henrfs power was the salvation of Louis VII., who had more the 
spirit of a monk than of an active and resolute monarch. At his 
death a new epoch is seen to begin. The dominion of the great 
vassals declines, and the truly monarchical period commences. It 
was the change which ended in making the king the sole judge, 
legislator, and executive of the country. Louis the Fat, Philip 
Augustus, and St. Louis {Louis IX.) are the early forerunners 
of Louis XIV., under whom the absolute monarchy was made 
complete. 

Philip Augustus of France (1180-1223): Richard the Lion- 
hearted of England (1189-1199). — Philip Augustus was the last 
king of France to be crowned before his accession. The custom 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 295 

had helped to give stability to the regal system. Now it was no 
longer needful. Philip was only fifteen years old when he began to 
reign alone. For forty-three years he labored with shrewdness and 
perseverance, and with few scruples as to me means employed, to 
buiid up the kingly authority. His first act was a violent attack 
on the Jews, whom he despoiled and banished. This was counted 
an act of piety. He acquired Vermatidois, Valois, and Amiens ; 
refusing to render homage to the Bishop of Amiens, who claimed 
to be its suzerain. During the life of Henry II., Philip had allied 
himself closely with his son Richard (the Lion-hearted), who 
succeeded his father. Richard ^ds passionate and quarrelsome, 
yet generous. He was troubadour as well as king. After his 
coronation (1189), the two kings made ready for a Crusade 
together. To raise money, Richard sold earldoms and crown 
lands, and exclaimed that he would sell London if he could find 
a buyer. The two kings set out together in 1190. They soon 
quarreled. Philip came home first, and, while Richard was a 
prisoner in Austria, did his best to profit by his misfortunes, 
and to weaken the English reigning house. In the absence of 
Richard, John, his ambitious and unfaithful brother, was made 
regent by the lords and the London citizens. As nothing was 
heard of the king, John claimed the crown. Hearing of the 
release of Richard, Philip wrote to John (1194), "Take care of 
yourself, for the devil is let loose." Richard made war on Philip 
in Normandy, but Pope Innocent III obliged the two kings to 
make a truce for five years (1199). Two months after, Richard 
was mortally wounded while besieging a castle near Limoges, 
where it was said that a treasure had been found, which he as 
the suzerain claimed. He had never visited England but twice ; 
and, although he always had the fame of a hero, the country had 
no real cause to regret his death. 

John of England (1199-1216). — John (surnamed Sansterre,ox 
Lackland, a name given to the younger sons, whose fathers had 
died before they were old enough to hold fiefs) was chosen king. 
Anjou, Poitou, and Touraine desired to have for their duke 
young Arthur, duke of Brittany, the son of Geoffrey, John's elder 
brother. Philip Augustus took up the cause of Arthur, but de- 
serted him when he had gained for himself what he wished. 
When Phihp wished to reopen the war he took advantage of a 
complaint from one of John's vassals, Hugh of Lusignan, whose 
affianced bride John had stolen away. As suzerain Philip sum- 
moned John to answer at Paris, and when he did not appear the 
court declared his fiefs forfeited. It was in this war that Arthur 
was captured by his uncle and was murdered. This crime served 
only to strengthen Philip's cause. He seized on Norynandy, which 
thenceforward was French, and Brittany, which became an im- 



296 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 



mediate fief of the king (1204). He took the other possessions 
of England in Northern GauL There were left to the English 
the duchy of Aquitame, with Gascony and the Channel Islands. 
The lands south of the Loire John had inherited from his mother. 

Tyranny of John. — John robbed his subjects, high and low, 
under the name of taxation. Not content with forcing money out 
of the Jews, one of whom he was said to have coerced by pulling 
out a tooth every day, he treated rich land-owners with hardly less 
cruelty. He had not, like Henry II., the support of the people, 
and added to his unpopularity by hiring soldiers from abroad to 
help him in his oppression. 

John's Quarrel with the Pope : Magna Charta. — As rash as 
he was tyrannical, John engaged in a quarrel with Pope Innocent III. 
The monks of Canterbury appointed as archbishop, not the king's 
treasurer, whom he bade them choose, but another. The Pope 
neither heeded the king nor confirmed their choice, but made them 
elect a religious and learned Englishman, Stephen Langton. John, 
in a rage, drove the monks out of Canterbury, and refused to rec- 
ognize the election. The Pope excommunicated him, and laid 
England under an interdict ; that is, he forbade services in the 
churches, and sacraments except for infants and the dying ; mar- 
riages were to take place in the church porch, and the dead were to 
be buried without prayer and in unconsecrated ground. A?, John 
paid no regard to this measure of coercion, Iinocent declared him 
deposed, and charged the king of France to carry the sentence 
into effect (12 13). Resisted at home, and threatened from 
abroad, John now made an abject submission, laying his crown 
at the feet of Fandulph, the Pope's legate. He made himself 
the vassal of the Pope, receiving back from him the kingdoms 
of England and Ireland, which he had delivered to Innocent, and 
engaging that a yearly rent should be paid to Rome by the king of 
England and his heirs. Philip had to give up his plan of invad- 
ing England. John^s tyranny and licentiousness had become intol- 
erable, langton, a man of large views, and the English Church, 
united with the barons in extorting from him, in the meadow of 
Runny mede, — an island in the Thames, near Windsor, — the Mag- 
na Charta, the foundation of English constitutional liberty. It 
secured two great principles : first, that the king could take the 
money of his subjects only when it was voted to him for public 
objects ; and secondly, that he could not punish or imprison them 
at his will, but could only punish them after conviction, according 
to law, by their countrymen. 

The Great Charter is based on the charter of Henry I. It precisely defines and secures 
old customs. I. It recognizes the rights of the Church. 2. It secures person a>Ld property 
from seizure and spoliation ivithout the jtidginoit of peers or the laiv of the latid. 
3. There are regulations for courts of law. 4. Exactions by the lord are limited to the three 
customary feudal aids (p. 256) . The benefits granted to the vassal are to be extended to the lower 
tenants, 5. How the Great Council is to be composed, and how convened, is defined. 6. The 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 297 

"liberties and free customs" of London and of other towns are secured. 7. Protection is 
given against certain oppressive exactions of the Crown. 8. The safety of merchants against 
exactions in coming into England, and in going out, and in traveling through it, is guaranteed. 
9. There is some provision in favor of the villain. 

War -with France. — John joined in a great coalition against 
Philip Augustus. He was to attack France in the south-west ; 
while the emperor, Otto IV., and the counts of Flanders and 
Boulogne, with all the princes of the Low Countries, were to make 
their attack on the north. It was a war of the feudal aristocracy 
against the king of the French. At the great battle of Boiivines 
(1214) the French were victorious. The success, in the glory of 
which the communes shared, added no territory to France ; but it 
awakened a national spirit. John was beaten in Poitou, and went 
home. 

Deposition of John. — In England, Johti found that all his 
exertions against the Charter, even with the aid of Rome, were 
unavailing. In a spirit of vengeance, he brought in mercenary 
freebooters, and marched into Scotland, robbing and burning as 
he went. Every morning he burned the house in which he had 
lodged for the night. At length the English barons offered the 
crown to Louis, the eldest son of Philip Augustus ; hntjohn died 
in 1 2 16, and Louis found himself deserted. He had shown a dis- 
position to give lands to the French. 

The Albigensian War. — The war against the Albigenses began 
in the reign of Philip ; but he pleaded that his hands were full, and 
left it to be waged by the nobles. That sect had its seat in the 
south of France, and derived its name from the city of Albi. It 
held certain heterodox tenets, and rejected the authority of the 
priesthood. In 1 208, under Innocent III, a crusade was preached 
against Raymond VI., count of Toulouse, in whose territory most 
of them were found. This was first conducted by Simo7i de Mont- 
Jort, and then by Philip's son, Louis VIII., the county of Tou- 
louse being a fief of France. The result of the desolating conflict 
was, that part of the count's fiefs were in 1229 transferred to the 
crown, and the country itself in 1270. In that year, at the council 
of Toulouse, the Inquisition, a special ecclesiastical tribunal, was 
organized to complete the extermination of the Albigensians who 
had escaped the sword. The advantages resulting from the crush- 
ing of the sovereignties of the south were sure to come to the 
French monarchy. But Philip left it to the nobles and to his 
successors to win the enticing prize. 

The first period of rivalry between England and France ends 
with John and Philip Augustus. For one hundred and twenty 
years, each country pursues its course separately. Monarchy 
grows stronger in France : constitutional government advances in 
England. 



298 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Louis IX. of France (1226-1270). — In Louis IX. (St. Louis) 
France had a king so noble and just that the monarchy was 
sanctified in the eyes of the people. At his accession he was but 
eleven years old, and with his mother, Blanche of Castile, had to 
encounter for sixteen years a combination of great barons deter- 
mined to uphold feudalism. Most of them staid away from his 
coronation. When the young king and his mother approached 
Paris, they found the way barred ; but it was opened by the de- 
voted burghers, who came forth with arms in their hands to bring 
them in. The magistrates of the communes swore to defend the 
king and his friends (1228). They were supported by the Papacy. 
In 1 23 1 the war ended in a way favorable to royalty. The treaty 
of 1229 with Raymond VII., count of Toulouse, led to the grad- 
ual absorption of the South. Theobald of Champagne became 
king of Navarre, and sold to the crown Chaj-tres and other valu- 
able fiefs. In the earlier period of his reign Louis was guided by 
his wise, even if imperious, mother, who held the regency. 

England and France. — In 1243 Louis defeated Henty III. of 
England, who had come over to help the count of La Marche and 
other rebeUious nobles. In 1245 Charles of Anjou, the king's 
brother, married Beatrice, through whom Provence passed to the 
house of Anjou. The king's long absence (i 248-1 254), during 
the sixth Crusade, had no other result but to show to all that he 
combined in himself the qualities of a hero and of a saint. After 
his return, his government was wise and just, and marked by sym- 
pathy with his people. In 1259 he made a treaty with Henry III., 
yielding to him the Limousin, Perigord, and parts of Saintonge, 
for which Henry relinquished all claims on the rest of France. 
Louis fostered learning. The University of Paris flourished under 
his care. In his reign Robert of Sorbon (1252) founded the 
Sorbonne, the famous college for ecclesiastics which bears his name. 

Civil Policy of Louis. — In his civil policy Louis availed him- 
self of the Roman law to undermine feudal privileges. The legists 
enlarged the number of cases reserved for the king himself to 
adjudicate. He established new courts of justice, higher than the 
feudal courts, and the right of final appeal to himself. He made 
the king's " Parliament " a great judicial body. He abolished in 
his domains the judicial combat, or duel, — the old German method 
of deciding between the accused and the accuser. He liberated 
many serfs. But, mild as he was, he had no mercy for Jews and 
heretics. In his intercourse with other nations, he blended firm- 
ness and courage with a fair and unselfish spirit. He refused to 
comply with the request of the Pope to take up arms against the 
emperor, Frederic II. ; but he threatened to make war upon him 
if he did not release the prelates whom he had captured on their 
way to Rome. The " Pragmatic Sanction " of St. Louis is of 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 299 

doubtful genuineness. It is an assertion of the liberties of the 
Galilean Church. With loyalty to the Holy See, and an exalted 
piety, Louis defended the rights of all, and did not allow the clergy 
to attain to an unjust control. Voltaire said of him, " It is not 
given to man to carry virtue to a higher point." He stands in 
the scale of merit on a level with Alfred of England. 

Parliaments in France. — The word parliajneiit in French history has 
a very different meaning from that which it bears when applied to the 
English institution of the same name. There were thirteen parliaments in 
France, each having a jurisdiction of its own. They were established at 
different times. Of these the Parliament of Paris was the oldest and by far 
the most important. The king and other suzerains administered justice, 
each in his own domain. The Parliament of Paris was originally a portion 
of the king's council that was set apart to hear causes among the fiefs. It 
considered all appeals and judicial questions. But in the reign of Louis 
IX., commissioners, or baillis, of the king, held provincial courts of appeal 
in his name. The great suzerains established, each in his own fief, like tri- 
bunals, but of more restricted authority. Louis IX. made it optional with 
the vassal to be tried by his immediate suzerain, or in the king's courts, 
which were subordinate to his council. As time went on, the authority of 
the royal tribunals increased, as that of the feudal courts grew weaker. In 
the Parliament of Paris, a corps of legists who understood the Roman law 
were admitted with the lords, knights, and prelates. More and more these 
" counsellors " were left to themselves. Later there was a division into Cham- 
bers, of which the Grand Chamber for the final hearing and decision of appeals 
was of principal importance. Philip the Fair (1303) gave a more complete 
organization to Parliament. He provided that it should hold two annual 
sittings at Paris. Thus there grew up a judicial aristocracy. After 1368 
the members were appointed for life. At length, under Henry IV., the seats 
in Parliament became hereditary. The great magistrates thus constituted 
wore robes of ermine, or of scarlet adorned with velvet. The Palace of Jus- 
tice (^Palais de Justice'), on an island in the Seine, was given to Parliament for 
its sessions by Charles V. In its hall scenes of tragic interest, including, in 
modern times, the condemnation of Marie Antoinette and of Robespierre, have 
taken place. The crown was represented by a great officer, a public prose- 
cutor or attorney-general {procureur general). He and his assistants were 
termed the " king's people " (gejis du roi). They had the privilege of speak- 
ing with their hats on. It was an ancient custom to enroll the royal ordi- 
nances in the parliamentary records. Gradually it came to be considered 
that no statute or decree had the force of law unless it was entered on the 
registers of Parliament. Great conflicts occurred with the kings when Par- 
liament refused "to register" their edicts or treaties. Then the king would 
hold "a bed of justice," — so called from the cushions of the seat where he 
sat in the hall of Parliament, whither he came in person to command them 
to register the obnoxious enactment. This royal intervention could not be 
resisted : commonly the enrollment would be made, but sometimes under a 
protest. Each of the local parliaments claimed to be supreme in its own 
province : they were held to constitute together one institution, and all the 
judges were on a level. Attempts at political interference by Parliaments, 
the kings resisted. At the French Revolution in 1790, the Parliaments were 
finally abolished. 

Henry 111.(1216-1272). — John's eldest son, Henry, when he 
was crowned by the royalists, was only nine years old. For a 
short time he had a wise guardian in William, Earl of Pemb7-oke. 



300 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

In two battles, one on the land and one on the sea, Louis VIII. 
(1223-1226), son of /%///)!' ^z/^/i'/z/^ of France, was defeated. He 
made peace, and returned to France. Henry married Eleanor, 
the daughter of Raymond, count of Provence, — a beautiful and 
accomplished woman, but she was unpopular in England. The 
king, as well as his wife, lavished offices, honors, and lands upon 
foreigners. He was a weak prince, and unwisely accepted for his 
second son, Edmund, the crown of the Two Sicilies, which could 
be won only at the expense of England. This measure induced 
the barons to compel Henry to a measure equivalent to the pla- 
cing of authority in the hands of a council. This brought on a war 
between the king and the barons. The latter were led by Simon 
de Montfort (the second of the name), who had inherited the earl- 
dom of Leicester through his mother. Through him Parliament 
assumed the form which it has since retained. The greater barons, 
the lords or peers, with the bishops and principal abbots, came 
together in person, and grew into the House of Lords. The free- 
holders of each county had sent some of the knights to represent 
them. The attendance of these knights now began to be regular ; 
but besides the two knights from each county, who were like the 
county members of our own time, Simon caused each city and 
borough to send two of their citizens, or burgesses. Thus the House 
of Commons arose. Simon defeated Hemj at Lewes (1264) : but 
the barons flocked to the standard of Prince Edward, who escaped 
from custody ; and Simon was defeated and slain at the battle of 
Evesham in 1265. Henry was restored to power. He died in 
1272, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he had begun 
to rebuild. Under Henry, the Great Chai-ter, with some altera- 
tions, was three times confirmed. A Charter of the Forest was 
added, providing that no man should lose life or limb for taking 
the king's game. Cruel laws for the protection of game in the 
forests or uncultivated lands had been a standing grievance from 
the days of the Norman Conquest. The confirming of the Great 
Charter in 1225 was made the condition of a grant of money from 
the National Council to the king. When the bishops, in 1236, 
desired to have the laws of inheritance conformed to the rules of 
the Church, the barons made the laconic answer, " We wiU not 
change the laws of England" (Nolumus leges Anglice mutare). 



STATE OF SOCIETY. 30I 



CHAPTER IV. 

RISE OF THE BURGHER CLASS: SOCIETY IN THE ERA 
OP THE CRUSADES. 

Rise of the Cities, — Under feudalism, only two classes present 
themselves to view, — the nobility and the clergy on the one hand, 
and the serfs on the other. This was the character of society in the 
ninth century. In the tenth century we see the beginnings of an 
intermediate class, the germ of " the third estate." This change 
appears in the cities, where the durghers begin to increase in intel- 
ligence, and to manifest a spirit of independence. From this 
time, for several centuries, their power and privileges continued 
to grow. 

Growth of the Cities. — The same need of defense that led 
to the building of towers and castles in the country drove men 
within the walls of towns. Industry and trade developed intelli- 
gence, and produced wealth. But bit.rghers under the feudal rule 
were obliged to pay heavy tolls and taxes. For example, for pro- 
tection on a journey through any patch of territory, they were 
required to make a payment. Besides the regular exactions, they 
were exposed to most vexatious depredations of a lawless kind. 
As they advanced in thrift and wealth, communities that were 
made up largely of artisans and tradesmen armed themselves for 
their own defense. From self-defense they proceeded farther, 
and extorted exemptions and privileges from the suzerain, the 
effect of which was to give them a high though limited degree 
of self-government. 

Origin of Municipal Freedom. — It has been supposed that 
municipal government in the Middle Ages was a revival of old 
Roman rights and customs, and thus an heirloom from antiquity. 
The cities — those on the Rhine and in Gaul, for example — were 
of Roman origin. But the view of scholars at present is, that 
municipal liberty, such as existed in the Middle Ages, was a native 
product of the Germanic peoples. The cities were incorporated 
into the feudal system. They were subject to a lay lord or to a 
bishop. In Italy, however, they struggled after a more complete 
republican system. 

Cities and Suzerains. — In the conflicts which were waged by 
the cities, they were sometimes helped by the suzerain against the 
king, and sometimes by the king against the nearer suzerain. In 
England the cities were apt to ally themselves with the nobility 
against the king : in Germany and France the reverse was the 
fact. But in Germany the cities which came into an immediate 
relation to the sovereign were less closely dependent on him than 
were the cities in France on the French king. 



302 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Two Classes of Cities. — Not only did the cities wrest from 
the lords a large measure of freedom : it was often freely con- 
ceded to them. Nobles, in order to bring together artisans, and 
to build up a community in their own neighborhood, granted ex- 
traordinary privileges. Charters were given to cities by the king. 
Communities thus formed differed from the other class of cities in 
not having the same privilege of administering justice within their 
limits. 

German Cities. — The cities in Germany increased in number 
on the fall of the Hohenstaufen family. They made the inclo- 
sure of their walls a place of refuge, as the nobles did the vicinity 
of their castles. They eventually gained admittance to the Diets 
of the empire. They formed leagues among themselves, which, 
however, did not become political bodies, any more than the 
Italian leagues. 

The Roman Law. — The revised study of the Roman law 
brought in a code at variance with feudal principles. The middle 
class, that was growing up in the great commercial cities, availed 
themselves, as far as they could, of its principles in regard to the 
inheritance of property. The legists helped in a thousand ways 
to emancipate them from the yoke of feudal traditions. 

Municipal Government. — The cities themselves often had 
vassals, and became suzerains. Government rested in the hands 
of the magistrates. They were chosen by the general assembly 
of the inhabitants, who were called together by the tolling of the 
bell. The magistrates governed without much restraint until 
another election, unless there were popular outbreaks, "which 
were at this time," as Guizot remarks, " the great guarantee for 
good government." Where the courage and spirit of burghers 
were displayed was in the maintenance of their own privileges, or 
purely in self-defense. In all other relations they showed the 
utmost humility ; and in the twelfth "century, when their emanci- 
pation is commonly dated, they did not pretend to interfere in the 
government of the country. 

Travelers and Trade. — The East, especially India, was con- 
ceived of as a region of boundless riches ; but commerce with 
the East was hindered by a thousand difficulties and dangers. 
Curiosity led travelers to penetrate into the countries of Asia. 
Among them the Polo family of Venice, of whom Marco was the 
most famous, were specially distinguished. Marco Polo lived in 
China, with his father and his uncle, twenty-six years. After 
his return, and during his captivity at Genoa, he wrote the 
celebrated accounts of his travels. He died about 1324. Sir 
John Mandeville also wrote of his travels, but most of his de- 
scriptions were taken from the work of Friar Odoric, of Porde- 
none, who had visited the Far East. Merchants did not venture 



STATE OF SOCIETY. 303 

SO far as did bold explorers of a scientific turn. Commerce in the 
Middle Ages was mainly in two districts, — the borders of the North 
Sea and of the Baltic, and the countries upon the Mediterranean. 
Trade in the cities on the African coast, in the tenth and eleventh 
centuries, was flourishing ; and the Arabs of Spain were industri- 
ous and rich. Aries, Marseilles, Nice, Gejioa, Florence, Amalfi, 
Venice, vied with one another in traffic with the East. Interme- 
mediate between Venice and Genoa, and the north of Europe, 
were flourishing marts, among which Strasburg and other cities on 
the Rhine — Augsburg, Ulm, Ratisbon, Vienna, and Nuremberg — 
were among the most prominent. Through these cities flowed the 
currents of trade from the North to the South, and from the South 
to the North. 

The Hanseatic League. — To protect themselves against the 
feudal lords and against pirates, the cities of Northern Germany 
formed (about 1241) the Hanseatic League, which, at the height 
of its power, included eighty-five cities, besides many other cities 
more or less closely affiliated with it. This league was dominant, 
as regards trade and commerce, in the north of Europe, and 
united under it the cities on the Baltic and the Rhine, as well as 
the large cities of Flanders. Its merchants had control of the 
fisheries, the mines, the agriculture, and manufactures of Germany. 
Liibeck, Cologne, Brunswick, ■3sADantzic\^Qx^ its principal places. 
Liibeck was its chief center. In all the principal towns on the 
highways of commerce, the flag of the Hansa floated over its 
counting-houses. Wherever the influence of the league reached, 
its regulations were in force. It almost succeeded in monopoliz- 
ing the trade of Europe north of Italy. 

Flanders : England : France. — The numerous cities of Flan- 
ders — of which Ghent, Ypres, and Bruges were best known — 
became hives of industry and of thrift. Ghent, at the end of the 
thirteenth century, surpassed Paris in riches and power. In the 
latter part of the fourteenth century, the number of its fighting 
men was estimated at eighty thousand. The development of 
Holland was more slow. Amsterdam was constituted a town in 
the middle of the thirteenth century. England began to exchange 
products with Spain. It sent its sheep, and brought back the 
horses of the Arabians. The cities of France — Rouen, Orleans, 
Rheims, Lyons, Marseilles, etc. — were alive with manufactures 
and trade. ^ In the twelfth century the yearly fairs at Troyes, St. 
Denis, and Beaucaire were famous all over Europe. 

New Industries. — It has been already stated that the crusaders 
brought back to Europe the knowledge as well as the products of 
various branches of industry. Such were the cloths of Damascus, 
the glass of Tyre, the use of windmills, of linen, and of silk, the 
plum-trees of Damascus, the sugar-cane, the mulberry-tree. Cotton 



304 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

stuffs came into use at this time. Paper made from cotton was used 
by the Saracens in Spain in the eighth century. Paper was made 
from hnen at a somewhat later date. In France and Germany it 
was first manufactured early in the fourteenth century. 

The Jews. — The Jews in the Middle Ages were often treated 
with extreme harshness. An outburst of the crusading spirit was 
frequently attended with cruel assaults upon them. As Christians 
would not take interest, money-lending was a business mainly left 
to the Hebrews. By them, bills of exchange were first employed. 

Obstacles to Trade. — The great obstacle to commerce was the 
insecurity of travel. Whenever a shipwreck took place, whatever 
was cast upon the shore was seized by the neighboring lord. A 
noble at Leon, in Brittany, pointing out a rock on which many ves- 
sels had been wrecked, said, " I have a rock there more precious 
than the diamonds on the crown of a king." It was long before 
property on the sea was respected, even in the same degree as 
property on the land. Not even at the present day has this 
point been reached. The infinite diversity of coins was another 
embarrassment to trade. In every fief, one had to exchange his 
money, always at a loss. Louis LX. ordained that the money of 
eighty lords, who had the right to coin, should be current only in 
their own territories, while the coinage of the king should be re- 
ceived everywhere. 

Guilds. — A very important feature of mediaeval society was the 
guilds. Societies more or less resembling these existed among the 
Romans, and were called collegia, — some being for good fellow- 
ship or for religious rites, and others being trade-corporations. 
There were, also, similar fraternities among the Greeks in the 
second and third centuries B.C. In the Middle Ages, there were 
two general classes of guilds : First, there were the peace-guilds, 
for mutual protection against thieves, etc., and for mutual aid in 
sickness, old age, or impoverishment from other causes. They 
were numerous in England, and spread over the Continent. 
Secondly, there were the trade-guilds, which embraced the guilds- 
merchant, and the craft-guilds. The latter were associations of 
workmen, for maintaining the customs of their craft, each with a 
master, or alderman, and other officers. They had their provisions 
for mutual help for themselves and for their widows and orphans, and 
they had their religious obsen^ances. Each had its patron saint, 
its festivals, its treasury. They kept in their hands the monopoly 
of the branch of industry which belonged to them. They had 
their rules in respect to apprenticeship, etc. Almost all profes- 
sions and occupations were fenced in by guilds. 

Monasticism. — Society in the Middle Ages presented striking 
and picturesque contrasts. This was nowhere more apparent than 
in the sphere of religion. Along with the passion for war and 



STATE OF SOCIETY. 305 

the consequent reign of violence, there was a parallel self-conse- 
cration to a life of peace and devotion. With the strongest relish 
for pageantry and for a brilliant ceremonial in social life and in 
worship, there was associated a yearning for an ascetic course 
under the monastic vows. As existing orders grew rich, and gave 
up the rigid discipline of earlier days, new orders were formed by 
men of deeper religious earnestness. In the eleventh century, 
there arose, among other orders, the Carthusian and Cistercian ; 
in the twelfth century, the Premonstrants and the Carmelites, and 
the order of Trinitarians for the liberation of Christian captives 
taken by the Moslems. The older orders, especially that of the 
Betiedictines in its different branches, became very wealthy and 
powerful. The Cistercian Order, under its second founder, St. 
Bernard (who died in 1153), spread with wonderful rapidity. 

The Mendicant Orders. — In the thirteenth century, when the 
papal authority was at its height, the mendicant orders arose. 
The order of St. Francis y^^.% fully established in 1223, and the 
order of St. Dominic in 12 16. They combined with monastic 
vows the utmost activity in preaching and in other clerical work. 
These orders attracted young men of talents and of a devout spirit 
in large numbers. The mendicant friars were frequently in conflict 
with the secular clergy, — the ordinary priesthood, — and with the 
other orders. But they gained a vast influence, and were devotedly 
loyal to the popes. It must not be supposed that the monastic 
orders generally were made up of the weak or the disappointed 
who sought in cloisters a quiet asylum. Disgust with the world, 
from whatever cause, led many to become members of them ; but 
they were largely composed of vigorous minds, which, of their own 
free choice, took on them the monastic vows. 

The Rise of the Universities. — The Crusades were accompanied 
by a signal revival of intellectual activity. One of the most im- 
portant events of the thirteenth century was the rise of the univer- 
sities. The schools connected with the abbeys and the cathedrals 
in France began to improve in the eleventh century, partly from 
an impulse caught by individuals from the Arabic schools in Spain. 
After the scholastic theology was introduced, teachers in this 
branch began to give instruction near those schools in Paris. 
Numerous pupils gathered around noted lecturers. An organization 
followed which was called a universit)>, — a sort of guild, — made 
up of four faculties, — theology, canon law, medicine, and the arts. 
The arts included the three studies {trivium) of grammar, rheto- 
ric, and philosophy, with four additional branches (the quadri- 
vium), — arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy. Paris became 
the mother of many other universities. Next to Paris, Oxford 
was famous as a seat of education. Of all the universities, Bologna 
in Italy was most renowned as a school for the study of the civil law. 



306 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Scholastic Theology. — The scholastic theology dates from the 
middle of the eleventh century. It was the work of numerous 
teachers, many of them of unsurpassed acuteness, who, at a time 
when learning and scholarship were at a low ebb, made it their 
aim to systemize, elucidate, and prove on philosophical grounds, 
the doctrines of the Church. Aristotle was the author whose 
philosophical writings were most authoritative with the schoolmen. 
In theology, Augustine was the most revered master. 

The main question in philosophy which the schoohnen debated was that 
of No7ninalism and Realism. Tlie question was, whether a general term, as 
mail, stands for a real being designated by it (as ;«««, in the example given, 
for humanity), or is simply the nauie of divers distinct individuals. 

The Leading Schoolmen. — In the eleventh century A^iselm of Can- 
terbury was a noble example of the scholastic spirit. In the thirteenth 
century Abelard was a bold and brilliant teacher, but with less depth and 
discretion. He, like other eminent schoolmen, attracted multitudes of pu- 
pils. The thirteenth century was the golden age of scholasticism. Then 
flourished Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventura, and others 
very influential in their day. There were two schools of opinion, — that of the 
Thomists, the adherents of Aquinas, the great theologian of the Dominican 
order ; and that of the Scotists, the adherents of Duns Scotus, a great light of 
the Franciscans. They differed on various theological points not involved 
in the common faith. 

The discussions of the schoolmen were often carried into distinctions 
bewildering from their subtlety. There were individuals who were more 
disposed to the inductive nxet^oA of investigation, and who gave attention to 
natural as well as metaphysical science. Perhaps the most eminent of these 
is Roger Bacon. He was an Englishman, was born in 1219, and died about 
1294. He was imprisoned for a time on account of the jealousy with which 
studies in natural science and new discoveries in that branch were regarded 
by reason of their imagined conflict with religion. Astrology was cultivated by 
the Moors in Spain in connection with astronomy. It spread among the 
Christian nations. Alchemy, the search for the transmutation of metals, 
had its curious votaries. But such pursuits were popularly identified with 
diabolic agency. 

The Vernacular Literatures : the Troubadours. — Intellectual 
activity was for a long time exclusively confined to theology. The earliest 
literature of a secular cast in France belongs to the tenth and eleventh 
centuries, and to the dialect of Provence. The study of this language, and 
the poetry composed in it, became the recreation of knights and noble ladies. 
Thousands of poets, who were called Tj'ozibadours (from trobar, to find or 
invent), appeared almost simultaneously, and became well known in Spain 
and in Italy as well as in France. At the same time the period of chivalry 
began. The theme of their tender and passionate poems was love. They 
indulged in a license which was not offensive, owing to the laxity of manners 
and morals in Southern France at that day, but would be intolerable in a 
different state of society. Kings, as well as barons and knights, adopted the 
Proven5al language, and figured as troubadours. In connection with jousts 
and tournaments, there would be a contest for poetical honors. The " Court 
of Love," made up of gentle ladies, with the lady of the castle at their head, 
gave the verdict. Besides the songs of love, another class of Provencal 
poems treated of war or politics, or were of a satirical cast. From the 
Moors of Spain, rhyme, which belonged to Arabian poetry, was introduced, 
and spread thence over Europe. After the thirteenth century the trouba- 
dours were heard of no more, and the Provenfal tongue became a mere 
dialect. 



STATE OF SOCIETY. 30/ 

The Norman Writers. — The first writers and poets in the French 
language proper appeared in Normandy. They called themselves Trou- 
veres. They were the troubadours of the North. They composed romances 
of chivalry, and Fabliaux, or amusing tales. They sang in a more warlike 
and virile strain than the poets of the South. Their first romances were 
written late in the twelfth century. About that time Villehardmiin wrote in 
French a history of the conquest of Constantinople. From the poem en- 
titled "Alexander," the name of Alexandrine verse came to be applied to 
the measure in which it was written. A favorite theme of the romances of 
chivalry was the mythical exploits of Arthur, the last Celtic king of Britain, 
and of the knights of the Round Table. Another class of romances of chiv- 
alry related to the court of Charleinagne. The Fabliaux in the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries were largely composed of tales of ludicrous adventures. 

German, English, and Spanish Writers. — In Germany, in the age 
of the Hohenstaufens, the poets called Minnesingers abounded. They were 
conspicuous at the splendid tournaments and festivals. In the thirteenth 
century numerous lays of love, satirical fables, and metrical romances were 
composed or translated. Of the Round Table legends, that of the San Graal 
(the holy vessel) was the most popular. It treated of the search for the 
precious blood of Christ, which was said to have been brought in a cup or 
charger into Northern Europe by Joseph of Arimathea. During this period 
the old ballads were thrown into an epic form ; among them, the Nibelungen- 
lied, the Iliad of Germany. The religious faith and loyalty of the Spanish 
character, the fruit of their long contest with the Moors, are reflected in the 
poem of the Cid, which was composed about the year 1200. It is one of the 
oldest epics in the Romance languages. In England during this period, we 
have the chronicles kept in the monasteries. Among their authors are 
William of Mahnesbury, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Matthew Paris, a Bene- 
dictine monk of St. Albans. 

Dante. — Dante, the chief poet of Italy, and the father of its vernacular 
literature, was born in Florence in 1265. The Divine Comedy is universally 
regarded as one of the greatest products of poetical genius. 

The family oi Alighieri, to which Dante belonged, was noble, but not of the highest rank. 
He was placed under the best masters, and became not only an accomplished student of Virgil 
and other Latin poets, but also an adept in theology and in various other branches of knowl- 
edge. His training was the best that the time afforded. His family belonged to the anti- 
imperial party of Guelfs. The spirit of faction raged at Florence. Dante was attached to the 
party of " Whites" {Biajtchi) ,z.x\A, having held the high office o'i prior in Florence, was ban- 
ished, with many others, when the "Blacks" {Ncri) got the upper hand (1302). Until his 
death, nineteen years later, he wandered from place to place in Italy as an exile. Circum- 
stances, especially the distracted condition of the country, led him to ally himself with the Chi- 
beUines, and to favor the imperial cause. All that he saw and suffered until he breathed his 
last, away from his native city, at Ravenna, combined to stir within him the thoughts and 
passions which find expression in his verse. ■ • , 

No poet before Dante ever equaled him in depth of thought and feehng. His principal 
work is divided into three parts. It is an allegorical vision of hell, purgatory, and heaven. 
Through the first two of these regions, the poet is conducted by Virgil. In the third, Beatrice 
is his guide. When he was a boy of nine years of age, he had met, at a May-day festival, 
Beatrice, who was of the same age; and thenceforward he cherished towards her a pure and 
romantic affection. Before his twenty-fifth year she died; but, after her death, his thoughts 
dwelt upon her with a refined but not less passionate regard. She is his imaginary guide 
through the abodes of the blest. His You7ig Life ( Vita Nuovd) gives the history of his 
love. The " Divine Comedy" — so called because the author would modestly place it below 
the rank of tragedy, — besides the lofty genius which it exhibits, besides the matchless force 
and beauty of its diction, sums up, so to speak, what is best and most characteristic in the 
whole intellectual and religious Ufe of the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas was Dante's 
authority in theology. The scholastic system taught by the Church is brought to view m his 
pictures of the supernatural world, and in the comments connected with them. 

Painting. — After the Lombard conquest of Italy, art branched off into 
two schools. The one was the Byzantine, and the other the Late Roman. 
In the Byzantine paintings, the human figures are stiff, and conventional forms 
prevail. The Byzantine school conceived of Jesus as without beauty of per- 



308 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

son, — literally "without form or comeliness." The Romans had a directly 
ojjposite conception. Byzantine taste had a strong influence in Italy, espe- 
cially at Venice. This is seen in the mosaics of St. Mark's Cathedral. The 
first painter to break loose from Byzantine influence, and to introduce a more 
free style which flourished under the patronage of the Church, was Cimabiie 
( 1 240-1302), who is generally considered the founder of modern Italian paint- 
ing. The first steps were now taken towards a direct observation and imita- 
tion of nature. The artist is no longer a slavish copyist of others. " Cima- 
biie " s?i.y?> M. Taiiie, "already belongs to the new order of things; for he 
invents and expresses." But Cimabiie was far outdone by Giotto (1276-1337), 
who cast off wholly the Byzantine fetters, studied nature earnestly, and 
abjured that which is false and artificial. Notwithstanding his technical de- 
fects, his force, and " his feeling for grace of action and harmony of color," 
were such as to make him, even more than Cimabtie, " the founder of the true 
ideal style of Christian art, and the restorer of portraiture." " His, above 
all, was a varied, fertile, facile, and richly creative nature." The contempo- 
rary of Dante, his portrait of the poet has been discovered in recent times on 
a wall in the Podesta at Florence. " He stands at the head of the school of 
allegorical painting, as the latter of that of poetry." The most famous pupil 
of Giotto 'Vid.s Taddeo Gaddi (about 1300- 1367). 

Sculpture. — In the thirteenth century, the era of the revival of art in 
Italy, a new school of sculpture arose under the auspices especially of two 
artists, Niccolo of Pisa and his son Giovanni. They brought to their art the 
same spirit which belonged to Giotto in painting and to Dante in poetry. The 
same courage that moved the great poet to write in his own vernacular 
tongue, instead of in I>atin, emboldened the artists to look away from the 
received standards, and to follow nature. In the same period a new and 
improved style of sculpture appears in other countries, especially in the 
Gothic cathedrals of Germany and France. 

Architecture. — The earliest Christian churches were copies of the 
Roman basilica, — a civil building oblong in shape, sometimes with and some- 
times without rows of columns dividing the nave from the aisles : at one 
end, there was usually a semicircular apse. Most of the churches of the 
eleventh and twelfth centuries were built after this style. Then changes were 
introduced, which in some measure paved the way for the Gothic, the pecul- 
iar type of mediaeval architecture. The essential characteristic of this style is 
the pointed arch. This may have been introduced by the returning crusaders 
from buildings which they had observed in the East. Its use and develop- 
ment in the churches and other edifices of Europe in the twelfth and thir- 
teenth centuries were without previous example. The Gothic style was carried 
to its perfection in France, and spread over England and Germany. The 
cathedrals erected in this form are still the noblest and most attractive build- 
ings to be seen in the old European towns. 

The cathedral of Rheims was commenced in 1211 : the choir was dedicated in 1241, and the 
edifice was completed in 1430. The cathedral of Amicus was begun in 1220; that of Char- 
tres was begun about 1020, and was dedicated in 1260; that of Salisbury was begun in 1220; 
that of Cologne, in 1248; the cathedral of Strasburg was only half finished in 1318, when the 
architect, Erwin of Steinbach, died; that of Notre Dame in Paris was begun in 1163; that 
of Toledo, in 1258. These noble buildings were built gradually: centuries passed before the 
completion of them. Several of them to this day remain unfinished. 



STATE OF SOCIETY. 



309 



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Period IV. 

FROM THE END OF THE CRUSADES TO THE FALL OF 
CONSTANTINOPLE. 

(A.D. 1270-1453.) 

THE DECLINE OF ECCLESIASTICAL, AUTHORITY : THE GROWTH 
OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT AND OF MONARCHY. 



Character of the New Era. — The Church was supreme in the 
era of the Crusades. These had been great movements of a soci- 
ety of which the Pope was the head, — movements in which 
the pontiffs were the natural leaders. We come now to an era 
when the predominance of the Church declines, and the Papacy- 
loses ground. Mingled with religion, there is diffused a more secu- 
lar spirit. The nations grow to be more distinct from one another. 
Political relations come to be paramount. The national spirit 
grows strong, — too strong for outside ecclesiastical control. With- 
in each nation the laity is inclined to put limits to the power and 
privileges of the clergy. In several of the countries, monarchy in 
the modern European form gets a firm foothold. The enfran- 
chisement of the towns, the rise of commerce, the influence gained 
by the legists and by the Roman law, of which they were the ex- 
pounders, had betokened the dawn of a new era. The develop- 
ment of the national languages and literatures signified its coming. 
Germany and the Holy Roman Empire no longer absorb attention. 
What is taking place in France and England is, to say the least, of 
equal moment. 



CHAPTER I. 

ENGLAND AND FRANCE: SECOND PERIOD OF RIVALSHIP: 
THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR (A.D. 1339-1453). 

Philip III. of France (1270-1285). — In France royalty made a 
steady progress down to the long War of a Hundred Years. Philip 
III. (i 270-1 285) married his son to the heiress oi Navarre. His 
sway extended to the Pyrenees. He failed in an expedition against 

311 



312 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Peter, king of Aragon, who had supported the SiciHans against 
Charles of Anjou ; but the time for foreign conquests had not 
come. 

Philip IV. of France (1285-1314) : "War with Edward I. of Eng- 
land. — Philip IV. (the Fair) has been styled the "King of the 
Legists." He surrounded himself with lawyers, who furnished him, 
from their storehouse of Roman legislation, weapons with which 
to face baron and pope. In 1292 conflicts broke out between 
English and French sailors. Philip, in his character as suzerain, 
undertook to take peaceful possession of Guienne, but was pre- 
vented by the English garrisons. Thereupon he summoned 
Edward I. of England, as the holder of the fiefs, before his court. 
Edward sent his brother as a deputy, but the French king de- 
clared that the fiefs were forfeited in consequence of his not 
appearing in person. 

In the war that resulted (1294-129 7), each party had his natu- 
ral allies. Philip had for his allies the Welsh and the Scots, while 
Edward was supported by the Count of Flanders and by Adolphus 
of Nassau, king of the Romans. In Scotland, Williayn Wallace 
withstood Edward. Philip was successful in Flanders and in 
Guienne. Edwai^d, who was kept in England by his war with the 
Scots, secured a truce through the mediation of Pope Boniface 
VIII. Phihp then took possession of Flanders, with the exception 
of Ghent. Flanders was at that time the richest country in Europe. 
Its cities were numerous, and the whole land was populous and 
industrious. From England it received the wool used in its thriv- 
ing manufactures. To England its people were attached. Philip 
loaded the Flemish people with imposts. They rose in revolt, and 
Robert d''Artois, Philip's brother, met with a disastrous defeat in a 
battle with the Flemish troops at Coitrtrai, in 1302. The Flemish 
burghers proved themselves too strong for the royal troops. Flan- 
ders was restored to its count, four towns being retained by 
France. 

Conflict of Philip IV. and Boniface VIII. — The expenses of 
Philip, in the support of his army and for other purposes, were 
enormous. The old feudal revenues were wholly insufficient for 
the new methods of government. To supply himself with money, 
he not only levied onerous taxes on his subjects, and practiced 
ingenious extortion upon the Jews, but he resorted again and 
again to the device of debasing the coin. His resolution to tax 
the property of the Church brought him into a controversy, mo- 
mentous in its results, with Pope Boniface VIII. 

Boniface's idea of papal prerogative was fully as exalted as that 
formerly held by Hildebrand and Innocent III. But he had less 
prudence and self-restraint, and the temper of the times was now 
altered. If Philip was sustained by the Roman law and its inter- 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 313 

preters, whose counsels he gladly followed, Boniface, on the other 
hand, could lean upon the system of ecclesiastical or canon law, 
which had long been growing up in Europe, and of which the 
Canonists were the professional expounders. The vast wealth of 
the clergy had led to enactments for keeping it within bounds, 
hke the statute of mortmain in England (1279) forbidding the 
giving of land to religious bodies without license from the king. 
The word mortmain meant dead hand, and was applied to possess- 
ors of land, especially ecclesiastical corporations, that could not 
alienate it. The jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts, which kings, 
because they happened to have a less liking for feudal law, had 
often favored, had now come to be another great matter of con- 
tention. In 1296 Boniface VIII., in the bull clericis laicos, — so 
named, like other papal edicts, from the opening words, — for- 
bade the imposition of extraordinary taxes upon the clergy with- 
out the consent of the Holy See. Philip responded by forbidding 
foreigners to sojourn in France, which was equivalent to driving 
out of the country the Roman priests and those who brought in 
the obnoxious bull. At the same time he forbade money to be 
carried out of France. This last prohibition cut off contributions 
to Rome. The king asserted the importance of the laity in the 
Church, as well as of the clergy, and the right of the king of 
France to take charge of his own realm. There was a seeming 
reconciliation for a time, through concessions on the side of the 
Pope; but the strife broke out afresh in 1301. Philip arrested 
Bernard Saisset, a bold legate of the Pope. Boniface poured forth 
a stream of complaints against Philip (1301), and went so far as 
to summon the French clergy to a council at Rome for the settle- 
ment of all disorders in France. The king then appealed to the 
French nation. On the loth of April, 1302, he assembled in the 
Church of Notre Dame, at Paris, a body which, for the first time, 
contained the deputies of the universities and of the towns, and 
for this reason is considered to have been the first meeting of the 
States General. The clergy, the barons, the burghers, sided cor- 
dially with the king. The Pope then published the famous bull, 
Unam Sanctam, in which the subjection of the temporal power to 
the spiritual is proclaimed with the strongest emphasis. Boniface 
then excommunicated Philip, and was preparing to depose him, 
and to hand over his kingdom to the emperor, Albert I. 

Death of Boniface VIII. — Meantime Philip had assembled 
anew the States General (1303). The legists lent their counsel 
and active support. It was proposed to the king to convoke a 
general council of the Church, and to summon the Pope before 
it. William of Nogaret, a great lawyer in the service of Philip, 
was directed to lodge with Boniface this appeal to a council, and 
to publish it at Pome. With Sciarra Colomia, between whose fam- 



314 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

ily and the Pope there was a mortal feud, Nogaj-et, attended also 
by several hundred hired soldiers, entered Anagni, where Boniface 
was then staying. The two messengers heaped upon him the se- 
verest reproaches, and Colonna is said to have struck the old pon- 
tiff in the face with his mailed hand. The French were driven 
out of the town by the people ; but from the indignities which he 
had suffered, and the anger and shame consequent upon them, 
Boniface shortly afterwards died. 

The " Babylonian Captivity " (1309-1379). — From the date of 
the events just narrated, the pontifical authority sank, and the 
secular authority of sovereigns and nations was in the ascendant. 
After the short pontificate of Benedict XL, who did what he 
could to reconcile the ancient but estranged allies, France and 
the Papacy, a French prelate, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, was 
made pope under the name of Clement V., he having previously 
engaged to comply with the wishes of Philip. While the Papacy 
continued subordinate to the French king, its moral influence in 
other parts of Chris lendom was of necessity reduced. Clement V. 
was crowned at Lyo7is in 1305, and in 1309 established himself 
at Avignon, a possession of the Holy See on the borders of France. 
After him there followed at Avignon seven popes who were subject 
to French influence (1309-1376). It is the period in the annals 
of the Papacy which is called the " Babylonian captivity." Philip 
remained implacable. He was determined to secure the condem- 
nation of Boniface VIII., even after his death. Clement V. had 
no alternative but to summon a council, which was held at Vienne 
in 131 1, when Boniface was declared to have been orthodox, at 
the same time that Philip was shielded from ecclesiastical censure 
or reproach. 

Suppression of the Knights Templars. — One of the demands 
which Philip had made of Cle7nent V., and a demand which the 
council had to grant, was the condemnation of the order of Knights 
Templars, whose vast wealth Philip coveted. On the 13th of 
October, 1307, the Templars were arrested overall France, — an 
act which evinces both the power of Philip, and his injustice. 
They were charged with secret immoralities, and with practices 
involving impiety. Provincial councils were called together to 
decree the judgment preordained by the king. The Templars 
were examined under torture, and many of them were burned at 
the stake. A large number of those who were put to death re- 
voked the confessions which had been extorted from them by 
bodily suffering. Individuals may have been guilty of some of 
the charges, but there is no warrant for such a verdict against the 
entire order. The order was abolished by Clement V. 

Law Studies : Mercenary Troops. — During the reign of Philip 
the Fair, it was ordained that Parliament should sit twice every year 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 315 

at Paris (1303). A university for the study of law was founded at 
Orleans. ■ The king needed soldiers as well as lawyers. , Mercenary 
troops were beginning to take the place of feudal bands. Philip 
brought the Genoese galleys against the ships of Flanders. 

The Three Sons of Philip : the " Salic Law." — Three sons of 
Philip reigned after him. Louis X. (1314-1316) was induced to 
take part in an aristocratic reaction, in behalf of " the good old 
customs," against the legists ; but he continued to emancipate the 
serfs. He was not succeeded by his daughter, but by his brother. 
This precedent was soon transformed into the " Sahc law " that only 
heirs in the male hne could succeed to the throne. The rule was 
really the result of the " genealogical accident " that for three 
hundred and forty-one years, or since the election of Hugh Capet, 
every French king had been succeeded by his son. In several 
cases the son had been crowned in the lifetime of the father. Thus 
the principle of heredity, and of heredity in the male line, had 
taken root. 

Under Philip V. and his successor, Charles IV. (1322-132S), there was 
cruel persecution of the Jews, and many people suffered death on the charge 
of sorcery. 

Edward I. of England (1272-1307): Conquest of Wales: Wil- 
liam Wallace. — Edwai'd, who was in the Holy Land when his 
father died, was a gallant knight and an able ruler, — " the most 
briUiant monarch of the fourteenth century." Llywelyn, prince of 
Wales, having refused to render the oath due from a vassal, was 
forced to yield. When a rebellion broke out several years later, 
Wales was conquered, and the leader of the rebellion was executed 
(1283). Thus Wales was joined to England ; and the king gave to 
his son the title of "Prince of Wales," which the eldest son of the 
sovereign of England has since worn. Edward was for many years 
at war with Scotland, which now included the Gaelic-speaking peo- 
ple of the Highlands, and the English-speaking people of the Low- 
lands. The king of England had some claim to be their suzerain, a 
claim which the Scots were slow to acknowledge. The old line of 
Scottish princes of the Celtic race died out. Alexander IH. fell 
with his horse over a cliff on the coast of Fife. Two competitors for 
the throne arose, both of them of Norman descent, — John Baliol 
and Robert Bruce. The Scots made Edwai'd dJi umpire, to decide 
which of them should reign. He decided {ox Baliol (1292), stip- 
ulating that the suzerainty should rest with himself. When he 
called upon Baliol to aid him against France, the latter renounced 
his allegiance, and declared war. He was conquered at Dunbar 
(1296), and made prisoner. The strongholds in Scotland fell 
into the hands of the English. The country appeared to be sub- 
jugated, but the Scots were ill-treated by the English. William 
Wallace put himself at the head of a band of followers, defeated 



3l6 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

them near Stirling in 1292, and kept up the contest for several 
years with heroic energy. At length Edward, through the skill 
acquired by the English in the use of the bow, was the victor at 
Falkirk in 1298. Wallace, having been betrayed into his hands, 
was brutally executed in London ( 1 305 ) . 

Edward carried off from Scone the stone on which the Scottish kings had always been 
crowned. It is now in Westminster Abbey, under the coronation chair of the sovereign of 
Great Britain. There was a legend, that on this same stone the patriarch Jacob laid liis head 
when he beheld angels ascending and descending at Bethel. Where that stone was, it was 
believed that Scottish kings would reign. This was held to be verified when English kings of 
Scottish descent inherited the crown. 

Robert Bruce. — The struggle for Scottish independence was 
taken up by Robert Bruce, grandson of the Bruce who had claimed 
the crown. His plan to gain the throne was disclosed by John 
Comyn, nephew of Baliol : this Corny n young Bruce stabbed in a 
church at Dumfries. He was then crowned king at Scone, and 
summoned the Scots to his standard. The English king sent his 
son Edward to conquer him ; but the king himself, before he could 
reach Scotland, died. 

Parliament : the Jews. — Under Edward, the form of govern- 
ment by king, lords, and commons was firmly established. Parlia- 
ment met in two distinct houses. Against his inclination he swore 
to the " Confirmation of the Charters," by which he engaged not to 
impose taxes without the consent of Parliament. The statute of 
mortmain has been referred to already. The clergy paid their 
taxes to the king when they found, that, unless they did so, the judges 
would not protect them. Edward had protected the Jews, who, in 
England as elsewhere, were often falsely accused of horrible crimes, 
and against whom there existed, on account of their religion, a vio- 
lent prejudice. At length he yielded to the popular hatred, and 
banished them from the kingdom, permitting them, however, to 
take with them their property. 

Edward II. (1307-1327). — Edward II., a weak and despicable 
sovereign, cared for nothing but pleasure. 

He was under the influence of the son of a Gascon gentleman, Peter of 
Gaveston, whom, contrary to the injunction of his father, he recalled from ban- 
ishment. Gaveston was made regent while the king was in France, whither he 
went, in 1308, to marry Isabel, daughter of Philip the Fair. After his return, 
the disgust of the barons at the conduct of Gaveston, and at the courses into 
which Edward vizs led by him, was such, that in 131Q they forced the king to 
give the government for a year to a committee of peers, by whom Gaveston 
was once more banished. When he came back, he was captured by the 
barons, and beheaded in 1312. 

Bruce : Bannockburn : Deposition of Edward II. — After vari- 
ous successes, Robert Bruce laid siege to Stirling in 13 14. This 
led to a temporary reconciliation between the king and the barons. 
Edward set out for Scotland with an army of a hundred thou- 
sand men. A great battle took place at Bannockburn, where 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 317 

Bmce, with a greatly inferior force of foot-soldiers, totally defeated 
the English. He had dug pits in front of his army, which he had 
covered with turf resting on sticks. The effect was to throw the 
English cavalry into confusion. Against the Despencers, father 
and son, the next favorites of Edward, the barons were not at first 
successful; but in 1326 Edward's queen, /jra^^"/, who had joined 
his enemies, returned from France with young Edward, Prince of 
Wales, and at the head of foreign soldiers and exiles. The barons 
joined her : the Despencers were taken and executed. The king 
was driven to resign the crown. He was carried from one castle to 
another, and finally was secretly murdered at Berkeley Castle, by 
Roger Mortimer, in whose custody he had been placed. 

On the suppression of the Knights Templars by Pope Clement V., their property in 
England was confiscated. The Teitiple, which was their abode in London, became afterwards 
the possession of two societies of lawyers, the Inner and Middle Tetnple. 



THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR: 

PERIOD I. (TO THE PEACE OP BRBTIGNY, 1360). 

Origin of the War: Edward III. of England (1327-1377). — 

England and France entered on one of the longest wars of which 
there is any record in history. It lasted, with only a few short 
periods of intermission, for a hundred years. At the outset, there 
were two main causes of strife. First, the king of France naturally 
coveted the English territory around Bordeaux, — Giiienne, whose 
people were French. Secondly, the English would not allow Flafi- 
ders — whose manufacturing towns, as Ghent and Bruges, were the 
best customers for their wool — to pass under French control. 
Independently of these grounds of dispute, Edward III. laid claim 
to the French crown, for the reason that his mother was the sister 
of the last king, while Philip VI. (1328-1350), then reigning, was 
only his cousin. The French stood by the " Sahc law," but a 
much stronger feeling was their determination not to be ruled by 
an Englishman. 

Edward III. claimed the throne of France in right of his mother, Isabel, 
the daughter oi Philip IV. The peers and barons of Prance, on the whole, 
for political reasons, decided that the crown should be given to Philip ( VI.). 
his nephew, of the house of Valois, a younger line of the Capets. Edward 
rendered to him, in 132S, feudal homage for the duchy of Guienne, but took 
the first favorable occasion to re-assert his claim to the throne. Robert II., 
Count of Artois, was obliged to fly from France on a charge of having poi- 
soned his aunt and her daughters, as a part of his unsuccessful attempt to 
get possession of the fiefs left to them by his grandsire. He went over to 
England from Brussels, and stirred up the young English king to attack 
Philip (1334). Daind Bricce, whom Edwai-d sought to drive out of Scotland, 
received aid from France. Philip ordered Louis, Count of Flanders, be- 
tween whom and the burghers there was no affection, to expel the English 
from his states. James Van Arteveld, a brewer of Ghent, convinced the 
people that it was better to get rid of the count, and ally themselves with 



3l8 MEDIy^VAL HISTORY. 

the English. Edward even then hesitated about entering into the conflict, 
but the demands and measures of Philip showed that he was bent on war. 
The princes in the neighborhood of Flanders, and the emperor Louis V., to 
whom the Pope at Avignon was hostile, declared on the side of Edward. 

The following tables (in part repeated, in a modified form, from previous tables, 
and here connected) will illustrate the narrative : — 



THE HOUSE OF VALOIS. 



Charles, Count of Valois (if. T325), younger son of Philip III, King of France. 

I (See below.) 



Philip VI, 1328-1350. 

John the Good, 1350-1364. 



I \ \ f 

Charles V the Wise, Louis, Duke of Anjou, John, Duke Philip, Duke of Burgundy 
1364-1380. founder of the .second of Berry. (</. 1404). 

I Royal House of Naples. 



I I 

Charles VI, 1380-1422. Louis,, Duke of Orleans (assassinated 1407), founder of the 
I House of Valois-Orleans. 



Charles VII, 1422-1461. 
Liouis XI, 1461-1483. 



Charles, Duke of Orleans {d. 1467). 



1 1 

Charles VIII, 1483-1498. Jeanne, m. Duke of Orleans, afterwards Louis XII, 

1498-1515. 



Philip III, 1270-128 



I 1 

Philip IV, 1285-1314. Charles, Count of Valois {,d. 1325), 

I VI. (i), Margaret of Naples. 



Isabel, Philip V, Charles IV, Philip VI, 1328-1350 

m. Edward H of England. 1316-1322. 1322-1328. 

Edward HI of England. 



Early Events of the War. — Hostilities began in 1337. Ed- 
ward entered France, and then for the first time pubhcly set up 
his claim to be king of France, quartering the lilies on his shield ; 
and he was accepted by the Flemish as their suzerain. The first 
battle was on the sea near Fort Shiys (1340), where Edward 'won 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 



319 



a victory, and thirty thousand Frenchmen were slain or drowned. 
This established the supremacy of the English on the water! 
The fleet of the French was made up of hired Castilian and 
Genoese vessels. In 1341 the conflict was renewed on account 
of a disputed succession in Brittany, in which the " Salic law " 
was this time on the English side. 

Jane of Penthievre was supported by Philip ; while ^ane of Montfort, an 
intrepid woman who was protected by Edward, contended for the rights of 
her husband. This war, consisting of the sieges of fortresses and towns, was 
kept up for twenty-four years. 

Battle of Crdcy: Calais: Brittany. — In 1346 the Earl of 
Derby made an attack in the south of France, while Edward, with 
his young son Edward, the Prince of Wales, landed in Normandy, 
which he devastated. King Edward advanced to the neighbor- 
hood of Paris ; but the want of provisions caused him to change his 
course, and to march in the direction of Flanders. His situation 
now became perilous. He was followed by Philip at the head of 
a powerful army ; and, had there been more energy and prompti- 
tude on the side of the French, the English forces might have been 
destroyed. Edward was barely able, by taking advantage of a ford 
at low tide, to cross the Somme, and to take up an advantageous 
position at Crecy. There he was attacked with imprudent haste 
by the army of the French. The chivalry of France went down 
before the solid array of English archers, and Edward gained an 
overwhelming victory. Philip's brother Charles, count of Alen- 
?on, fell, with numerous other princes and nobles, and thirty thou- 
sand soldiers (1346). In the battle, the English king's eldest son 
-— Edward, the Black Prince as he was called from the color of 
his armor — was hard pressed ; but the father would send no aid, 
saying, " Let the boy win his spurs." It was the custom to give 
the spurs to the full-fledged knight. After a siege, Calais, the port 
so important to the English, was captured by them. The deputies 
of the citizens, almost starved, came out with cords in their hands, 
to signify their willingness to be hanged. The French were driven 
out, and Calais was an English town for more than two centuries. 
France was defeated on all sides. The Scots, too, were van- 
quished ; and David Bruce was made prisoner (1346). In Brit- 
lany the French party was prostrate. A truce between the kings 
was concluded for ten months. 

The "Black Death." — In the midst of these calamities, the 
fearful pestilence swept over France, called the " Black Death." 
It came from Egypt, possibly from farther east. In Florence 
three-fifths of the inhabitants perished by it. From Italy it passed 
over to Provence, and thence moved northward to Paris, spread- 
ing destruction in its path. It reached England, and there it is 
thought by some that one-half of the population perished (1348- 
1349)- 



320 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

English and French Armies. — At this time, when the power of 
France was so reduced, the king acquired Montpellier from James 
of Aragon, and the Dauphine of Vienne by purchase from the 
last Dauphin, Humbert II., who entered a monastery. Dauphin 
became the tide of the heir of the French crown. It was con- 
stantly evident how deep a root the royal power had struck into 
the soil of France. At times, when the kingdom was almost gone, 
the kingship survived. But, unhappily, there was no union of 
orders and classes. Chivalry looked with disdain upon the com- 
mon people. The poor Genoese archers who had fought with the 
French at Crecy, and whose bow-strings were wet by a shower, 
were despised by the gentlemen on horseback. In the French 
armies, there was no effective force but the cavalry, and there was 
a fatal lack of subordination and discipline. In England, on the 
contrary, under kings with more control over the feudal aristocracy, 
and from the combination of lords and common people in resist- 
ance to kings, the English armies had acquired union and discipline. 
The bow in the hands of the English yeoman was a most effective 
weapon. The English infantry were more than a match for the 
brave and impetuous cavaliers of France. At Crecy the entire 
English force fought on foot. Cannon were just beginning to 
come into use. This brought a new advantage to the foot-soldier. 
But it seems probable that cannon were employed at Cre'cy. 
Battle of Poitiers: Insurrection in Paris. — Philip left his 
crown to his son, John (II.) of Normandy, called "the Good" 
(1350-1364) ; but the epithet {ie Bon) signifies not the morally 
worthy, but rather, the prodigal, gay and extravagant. He was 
a passionate, rash, and cruel king. His relations with Charles 
" the Bad," king of Navaj-re, — who, however, was the better man 
of the two, — brought disasters upon France. This Charles II. of 
Navarre (1349-1387) was the grandson, on his mother's side, of 
Louis X. of France. John had withheld from him promised fiefs. 
Later he had thrown him into prison. Philip of Navarre, the 
brother of Charles, helped the English against /<?/?;? in Normandy. 
Meanwhile the Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) ravaged the 
provinces near Guienne. The national spirit in France was roused 
by the peril. The States General granted large supplies of men 
and money, but only on the condition that the treasure should be 
dispensed under their superintendence, and that they should be 
assembled every year. The army of the Black Prince was small, 
and he advanced so far that he was in imminent danger ; but the 
attack on him at Poitiers (1356), by the vastly superior force of 
Y>l\ngJohn, was made with so much impetuosity and so little pru- 
dence that the French, as at Crecy, were completely defeated. Their 
cavalry charged up a lane, not knowing that the English archers 
were behind the hedges on either side. Their dead to the number 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 32T 

of eleven thousand lay on the field. The king, and with him a 
large part of the nobility, were taken prisoners. John was taken 
to England (1357). From the moment of his capture he was 
treated with the utmost courtesy. The French peasantry, however, 
suffered greatly ; and in France the name of Englishman for cen- 
turies afterwards was held in abhorrence. 

Insurrection in Paris. — The incapacity of the nobles to save 
the kingdom called out the energies of the class counted as ple- 
beian, — the middle class between the nobles and serfs. It was not 
without competent leaders, chief of whom were Robei-t le Coq, 
bishop of Laoii, and councilor of Parliament ; and Efienne Marcel, 
an able man, provost of the traders, or head of the municipality of 
Paris. The States General at Paris, at the instigation of such as 
these, required of the Dauphin the punishment of the principal 
officers of the king, the release of the King of Navarre, and the 
establishment of a council made up from the three orders, for the 
direction of all the important affairs of government. The States 
General, representing the South, at Toulouse voted a levy of men 
and means without conditions ; but the Dauphin Charles was 
obliged, at the next meeting of the States General of Paris (1357), 
to yield to these and other additional demands. The king, how- 
ever, a prisoner in England, at the Dauphin's request refused to 
ratify the compact. The agitators at Paris set the King of Na- 
varre free, and urged him to assert his right to the throne. Mar- 
cel and the Parisian multitude wore the party-colored hood of red 
and blue, the civic colors of Paris. They killed two of the Dau- 
phin's confidential advisers, the marshals of Champagne and Nor- 
mandy. A reaction set in against Marcel, and in favor of the 
royal cause. A civil war was the result. 

Revolt of the Jacquerie. — At this time, there burst forth an 
insurrection, called the Jacquerie, of the peasants of the provinces, 
— Jacques Boiihomme being a familiar nickname of the peasantry. 
It was attended with frightful cruelties : many of the feudal cha- 
teaux were destroyed, and all of their inmates killed. The land 
was given over to anarchy and bloodshed. Marcel made different 
attempts to effect a combination with Charles of Navarre ; but 
the revolutionary leader was assassinated, and the Dauphin Charles, 
having destroyed opposition in Paris, made peace with the King of 
Navarre, who had kept up in the provinces the warfare against him. 
The movement of Marcel, with whatever crimes and errors be- 
longed to it, was " a brave and loyal effort to stem anarchy, and 
to restore good government." By its failure, the hope of a free 
parliamentary government in France was dashed in pieces. 

Treaty of Bretigny (1360). — The captive Y\x\g, John, made a 
treaty with Edward, by which he ceded to the English at least one- 
half of his dominions. The Dauphin assembled the States Gen- 



322 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

eral, and repudiated the compact. Edward III., in 1359, again 
invaded France with an immense force. But Charles prudently 
avoided a general engagement, and Edward found it difificult to 
get food for his troops. He concluded with France, in 1360, the 
treaty of Bretigny, by which the whole province of Aquitame, with 
several other lordships, was ceded to Edward.^ clear of all feudal 
obligations. Edward, in turn, renounced his claim to the French 
crown, as well as to Normaiidy, and to all other former possessions 
of the Plantagenets north of the Loire. The King was to be set at 
liberty on the payment of the first installment of his ransom. 

THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR: 

PERIOD 11. (TO THE PEACE OP TROYBS, 1420). 

Duchy of Burgundy. — There was an opportunity to repair a 
part of these losses. In 1361 the ducal house of Burgundy be- 
came extinct, and the fief reverted to the crown. But John gave 
it to his son, Philip the Bold, who became the founder of the Bur- 
gundian branch of the house of Valois. Philip married the heiress 
of Ela?iders, and thus founded the power of the house of Burgundy 
in the Netherlands. 

Du Guesclin: Contest in Spain. — The provinces of France 
were overrun and plundered by soldiers of both parties, under the 
names of routiers (men of the road) dxi^ great companies. King 
John returned to England, because one of his sons, left as a 
hostage, had fled. There his captivity was made pleasant to him, 
but he died soon after. 

Charles V., or Charles the Wise (i 364-1 380), undertook to re- 
store prosperity to the French kingdom. He reformed the coin, 
the debasement of which was a dire grievance to the burghers. 
Against the free lances in the service of Charles of Navarre, the 
king sent bands of mercenary soldiers under Z>/^ Guesclin, a valiant 
gentleman of Brittany, who became one of the principal heroes of 
the time. The war lasted for a year, and the King of Navarre 
made peace. In Brittany, Du Guesclin was taken prisoner by the 
English party and the adventurers who fought with them. The 
king secured his release by paying his ransom ; and he led the 
companies into Spain to help the cause of Henry of Transtamare, 
who had a dispute for the throne of Castile with Peter the Cruel. 
The Black Prince supported Peter, and, for a time, with success. 
In 1369 Henry was established on the throne, and with him the 
French party. The principal benefit of this Spanish contest was 
the deliverance of France from the companies of freebooters. 

Advantages gained by the French. — King Charles reformed 
the internal administration of his kingdom, and at length felt him- 
self ready to begin again the conflict with England. Edward HI. 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 323 

was old. The Black Prince was ill and gloomy, and his Aquita- 
nian subjects disliked the supercilious ways of the English. Charles 
declared war (1369). The English landed at Calais. But the 
cities were defended by their strong walls ; and the French army, 
under the Duke of Burgundy, in pursuance of the settled policy of 
the king, refused to meet the enemy in a pitched battle. The next 
year (1370) they appeared again, and once more, in 1373, both 
times with the same result. The Duke of Anfou reconquered the 
larger part of Aquitaine. Du Guesclin was made constable of 
the French army, and thus placed above the nobles by birth. 
The English fleet was destroyed by the Castilian vessels before 
Rochelle (1372). Du Guesclin drove the Duke of Montfort, who 
was protected by the English, out of Brittany. In 1375 a truce 
was made, which continued until the death of Edward III. (1377). 
Then Charles renewed the war, and was successful on every side. 
Most of the English possessions in France were won back. The 
last exploit of the Black Prince had been the sacking of Limoges 
(1370). After this cruel proceeding, broken in health, he re- 
turned to England. 

State of England, — The Black Prince, after his return, when 
his father was old and feeble, did much to save the country from 
misrule, so that his death was deplored. The Parliament at this 
time was called "the Good." It turned out of office friends of 
fohii of Gaunt, — or of Ghent (the place where he was born), — 
the third son of Edward. They were unworthy men, whom John 
had caused to be appointed. At this time occurred the first in- 
stance of impeachment of the king's ministers by the Commons. 
When the Black Prince died, his brother regained the chief power, 
and his influence was mischievous. During Edward's reign, Flem- 
ish weavers were brought over to England, and the manufacture of 
fine woolen cloths was thus introduced. 

John Wickliffe. — In this reign the Enghsh showed a strong 
disposition to curtail the power of the popes in England. When 
Pope JJj-ban V., in 1366, called for the payment of the arrears of 
King John's tribute, Parliament refused to grant it, on the ground 
that no one had the right to subject the kingdom to a foreigner. 
It was in the reign of Edward III. that John Wickliffe became 
prominent. He took the side of the secular or the parish clergy 
in their conflict with the mendicant orders, — " the Begging Friars," 
as they were styled. He also advocated the cause of the king 
against the demands of the Pope. He contended that the clergy 
had too much wealth and power. He adopted doctrines, at that 
time new, which were not behind the later Protestant, or even 
Puritan, opinions. He translated the Bible into English. He was 
protected by Edward III. and by powerful nobles, and he died in 
peace in his parish at Lutterworth, in 1384 ; but, after his death, 



324 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

his bones were taken up, and burned. His followers bore the nick- 
name of Lollards, which is probably derived from a word that 
means to sing, and thus was equivalent to psalm- singers. 

Richard II. (1377-1399) : the Peasant Insurrection : Deposi- 
tion of Richard. — Richard, the young son of the Black Prince, 
had an unhappy reign. At first he was ruled by his uncles, espe- 
cially by y<?///z of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Four years after his 
accession, a great insurrection of the peasants broke out, from 
discontent under the yoke of villanage, and the pressure of taxes. 
The first leader in Essex was a priest, who took the name oi Jack 
Straw. In the previous reign, the poor had found reason to com- 
plain bitterly of the landlords ; but their lot was now even harder. 
When the insurgents reached Blackheath, they numbered a hun- 
dred thousand men. There a priest named John Ball harangued 
them on the equality of rights, from the text, — 

When Adam delved, and Eve span, 
Who was then a gentleman.-' 

Young Richard managed them with so much tact, and gave them 
such fair promises, that they dispersed. One of their most fierce 
leaders, Wat Tyler, whose daughter had been insulted by a tax- 
gatherer, was stabbed during a parley which he was holding with 
the king. 

There was a Gloucester party — a party led by his youngest uncle, 
the Duke of Gloucester — which gave Richard much trouble ; but 
he became strong enough to send the duke to Calais, where, it 
was thought, he was put to death. In 1398 he banished two no- 
blemen who had given him, at a former day, dire offense. One 
of them was Thomas Moiobray, Duke of Norfolk ; the other was 
Henry of Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, afterwards called Duke 
of Lancaster, son of John of Gaunt. When John of Gaunt died, 
Richard seized his lands. In 1399, when Richard v/as, in Ireland, 
Bolingbroke landed, with a few men-at-arms and with Archbishop 
Arundel ; and, being joined by the great family of Percy in the 
North, he obliged Richard to resign the crown. He was deposed 
by Parliament for misgovernment. Not long after, he was mur- 
dered. Lancaster was made king under the name of Henry IV. 
It was under Richard that the statute o{ prceniunire (of 1353) 
was renewed, and severe penalties were imposed on all who should 
procure excommunications or sentences against the king or the 
realm. 

The English Language and Literature. — In the course of the reign 
of Edward III., the French language, which had come in with the Normans, 
ceased to be the speech of fashion; and the English, as altered by the loss 
of inflections and by the introduction of foreign words, came into general 
use. The English ceased to speak the language of those who were now held 
to be national enemies. In 1362 the use of English was established in the 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 325 

courts of law. The Old English ceased to be written or spoken correctly. 
The Lati7t still continued to be familiar to the clergy and to the learned. 
William Langland wrote a poem entitled the Vision of Piers Plowman 
(1362). Pierce the Plozvf?ian's Crede is a poem by another author. The two 
principal poets are Chaucer and Gozuer, both of whom wrote the new English 
in use at the court. Chaucer's great poem, the Canterbury Tales, is the latest 
and most remarkable of his works. 

Henry IV. (1399-1413): Two Rebellions: The Lollards. — By 

right of birth, the crown would have fallen to Roger Mortimer, 
Earl of March, the grandson of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, Lionel 
having been a son of Edward III., older than John of Gaunt. But 
there was no law compelling Parliament to give the throne to the 
nearest of kin. So it fell to the house of Lancaster. 

Henry had to confront two rebellions. One was that of the 
Welsh, under Owen Glendower, which he long tried to put down, 
and which was gradually overcome by Henry, Prince of Wales, the 
story of whose wild courses in his youth was perhaps exaggerated. 
The other rebellion was that of the powerful Northumberland fam- 
ily of the Percys, undertaken in behalf of Richard if he was alive, 
— for it was disputed whether or not he had really died, — and if 
not alive, in behalf of the Earl of March. The Percys joined Glen- 
dower. They were beaten in a bloody battle near Shrewsbury, in 
1403, where Northumberland's son "Hotspur" {Harry Percy) was 
slain. While praying at the shrine of St. Edward in Westminster, 
the" king was seized with a fit, and died in the " Jerusalem Cham- 
ber " of the Abbot. Under Henry the proceedings against heretics 
were sharpened ; but the Commons at length, from their jealousy of 
the clergy, sought, although in vain, a mitigation of the statute. In 
the next reign, the Lollards, who were numerous, had a leader in 
Sir John Oldcastle, called Lord Cobhani, who once escaped from 
the Tower, but was captured, after some years, and put to death as 
a traitor and heretic. Whether he aimed at a Lollard revolution 
or not, is uncertain. The Lollards were persecuted, not only as 
heretics, but also as desiring to free the serfs from their bondage 
to the landlords. 

The Burgundians and Armagnacs. — In the last days of Charles 
V. of France, he tried in vain to absorb Brittany. Flanders and 
Lajtguedoc revolted against him. The aspect of public affairs was 
clouded when Charles VI. ( 1380-142 2), who was not twelve years 
old, became the successor to the throne. His uncles, the Dukes 
of Anfou, Berri, and Bui-gundy, contended for the regency. Their 
quarrels distracted the kingdom. A contest arose with the Flem- 
ish cities under the leadership oi Philip Van Artevelde ; but they 
were defeated by the French nobles at Roosebeke, and Artevelde 
was slain. This victory of the nobles over the cities was followed 
by the repression of the municipal leaders and lawyers in France. 
Two factions sprang up, — the Burgundians and the Armagnacs, 



326 MEDI/EVAL HISTORY. 

Margaret, the wife of the Duke of Burgundy, received Flanders 
by inheritance, on the death of her fatlier the Count (1384). The 
king was beginning to free himself from the control of the factions 
when he suddenly went mad. Thenceforth there was a struggle 
in France for supremacy between the adherents of the dukes of 
Burgtmdy and the adherents of the house of Orleans. The 
latter came to be called Armagnacs (1410), after the Count 
d'Armagnac, the father-in-law of Charles, Duke of Orleans. The 
strength of the Burgundians was in the North and in the cities. 
They adhered to Urban VI., the pope at Rome, in opposition to 
the Avignon pope, Clement VII. ; for these were the days of the 
papal schism. They were also friends of the house of lancaster 
in England, — of Henry IV. and Henj-y V. The strength of the 
Ar/nagnacs was in the South. At the outset, it was a party of the 
court and of the nobles : later it became a national party. Louis, 
Duke of Orleans, was treacherously assassinated by a partisan of 
the Burgundians (1407). This act fomented the strife. 

Battle of Agincourt : Treaty of Troyes (1420). — It was in 1392 
that the king partially lost his reason. For the rest of his life, ex- 
cept at rare intervals, he was either imbecile or frenzied. By the 
division of counsels and a series of fatalities, gigantic preparations 
for the invasion of England had come to naught (1386-1388). 
Henry V. of England (1413-1422) concluded that the best way to 
divert his nobles from schemes of rebellion was to make war across 
the Channel. Accordingly he demanded his " inheritance " ac- 
cording to the treaty of Bretigny, together with Normandy. On 
the refusal of this demand, he renewed the claim of his great- 
grandfather to the crown of France, although he was not the 
eldest descendant of Edward III. Henry invaded France at the 
head of fifty thousand men. By his artillery and mines he took 
Harfieur, but not until after a terrible siege in which thousands of 
his troops perished by sickness. On his way towards Calais, with 
not more than nine thousand men, he found his way barred at 
Agiticourt by the Armagnac forces, more than fifty thousand in 
number, comprising the chivalry of France (1415). In the great 
battle that ensued, the horses of the French floundered in the 
mud, and horse and rider were destroyed by the English bowmen. 
The French suffered another defeat like the defeats of Crecy and 
Poitiers. They lost eleven thousand men, and among them some 
of the noblest men in France. France was falling to pieces. 
Rouen was besieged by Henry, and compelled by starvation to 
surrender (1419). The fury of factions continued to rage. There 
were dreadful massacres by the mob in Paris. The Duke of Bur- 
gundy, John the Fearless {Jean sans Feur), was murdered in 1419 
by the opposite faction. The young Duke Fhilip, and even the 
Queen oi Yxaxice, Isabella, were now found on the Anglo-Burgun- 



ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 327 

dian side. By the Treaty of Troyes, in 1420, Catherine, the daugh- 
ter of Charles VI., was given in marriage to Henry V., and he was 
made the heir of the crown of France when the insane king, Chai-les 
VI., should die. Henry was made regent of France. The whole 
country north of the loire was in his hands. The Dauphin Charles 
retired to the provinces beyond that river. 

THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR: 

PERIOD III. (TO THE END, 1453). 

France in 1422, — Both Henry ■^xA Charles VI. died in 1422. 
The Duke of Bedford was made regent in France, ruling in the 
name of his infant nephew {He}t7y VI.). Charles VII. (1422- 
146 1 ) was proclaimed king by the Armagnacs south of the Loire. 
His situation was desperate, but he represented the national cause. 
Bedford laid siege to Orleans, the last bulwark of the royal party. 
The English were weakened, however, by the withdrawal of the 
Duke of Bz/rgundy and his forces. 

Joan of Arc. — When the national cause was at this low point. 
Providence raised up a deliverer in the person of a pure, simple- 
hearted, and pious maiden of Domrhny in lorj-aine, seventeen 
years of age, Jeanne Dare by name (the name Joa^i of Ai'c being 
merely a mistake in orthography) . The tales of suffering that she 
had heard deeply moved her. She felt herself called of Heaven to 
liberate France. She fancied that angels' voices bade her under- 
take this holy mission. Her own undoubting faith aroused faith 
in others. Commissioned by the king, she mounted a horse, and, 
with a banner in her hand, joined the French soldiers, whom she 
inspired with fresh courage. They forced the English to give up 
the siege of Orleans, and to march away. Other defeats of the 
English followed. The Maid of Orleans took Charles to Rheims, 
and stood by him at his coronation. The English and Burgun- 
dians rallied their strength. Joan of Arc was ill supported, and 
was made prisoner at Compi^gne by the Burgundians. They deliv- 
ered her to the English. She was subjected to grievous indignities, 
was condemned as a witch, and finally burned as a relapsed heretic 
at Rouen (1431). The last word she uttered was "Jesus." Her 
character was without a taint. In her soul, the spirit of religion 
and of patriotism burned with a pure flame. A heroine and a saint 
combined, she died " a victim to the ingratitude of her friends, 
and the brutality of her foes." 

The English driven out. — In 1435 the Diike of Burgundy was 
reconciled to Charles VII. , and joined the cause of France, The 
generals of Charles gained possession of one after another of the 
provinces. During a truce of two years, Hemy VI. of England 
(142 2- 1 461) married Margaret of Anjou, the daughter of King 



328 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Rene. Henry was of a gentle temper, but lacked prudence and 
vigor. The king of France and the dauphin began the organization 
of a standing army, which greatly increased the military strength of 
the country (1439). ^^ ^449 the war with England was renewed. 
With the defeat of the English, and the death of their commander, 
Talbot, in 1453, the contest of a century came to an end. All 
that England retained across the Channel was Calais with Havre 
and Guines Castle. France was desolated by all this fruitless strife. 
Some of the most fertile portions of its territory were reduced to 
a desert, " given up to wolves, and traversed only by the robber 
and the free-lance." 

Rebellion of "Jack Cade." — The peasants in England were 
now free from serfdom. Under Henry VI. occurred a formidable 
insurrection of the men of Kent, who marched to London led by 
John Cade, who called himself yi?/^/? Mortimer. They complained 
of bad government and extortionate taxes. One main cause of 
the rising was the successes of the French. The condition of the 
laboring class had much improved. The insurgents were defeated 
by the citizens, and their leader was slain. In this reign began the 
long "Wars of the Roses," or the contest of the houses of York 
and Lancaster for the throne. 




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GERMANY. 331 



CHAPTER II. 



GERMANY: ITALY: SPAIN: THE SCANDINAVIAN COUN- 
TRIES: POLAND AND RUSSIA: HUNGARY: OTTOMAN 
TURKS: THE GREEK EMPIRE. 

I. GERMANY. 

The Great Interregnum. — After the death of Frederick II. 
(1250), Germany and Italy, the two countries over which the 
imperial authority extended, were left free from its control. Italy 
was abandoned to itself, and thus to internal division. The case 
of Germany was analogous. During the "great interregnum," 
lasting for twenty-three years, the German cities, by their indus- 
try and trade, grew strong, as did the burghers in France, and 
in the towns iii England, in this period. But in Germany the 
feudal control was less relaxed. This interval was a period of 
anarchy and trouble. William of Holland wore the title of em- 
peror until 1256. Then the electors were bribed, and Alfonso X. 
of Castile, great-grandson of Frederick Barbarossa, and Richard, 
Earl of Cornwall, younger son of King John of England, were 
chosen by the several factions ; but their power was nominal. The 
four electors on the Rhine, and the dukes and counts, divided 
among themselves the imperial domains. The dismemberment 
of the duchies of Swabia and Franconia (1268), and at an 
earher day (1180) of Saxony, created a multitude of petty sove- 
reignties. The great vassals of the empire, the kings of Den- 
mark, of Poland, of Hungary, etc., broke away from its suzerainty. 
There was a reign of violence. The barons salhed out of their 
strongholds to rob merchants and travelers. The princes, and 
the nobles in immediate relation to the empire, governed, each in 
his own territory, as they pleased. New means of protection 
were created, as the league of the Rhine, comprising sixty cities 
and the three Rhenish archbishops, and having its own assemblies ; 
and the Hanseatic League, which has been described (p. 303). 
Moreover, corporations of merchants and artisans were established 
in the cities. In the North, where the Crusades, and war with the 
Slaves, had thinned the population, colonies of Flemings, Holland- 
ers, and Frisians came in to cultivate the soil. During the long- 
continued disturbances after the death of Frederick II., the desire 
of local independence undermined monarchy. The empire never 
regained the vigor of which it was robbed by the interregnum. 

House of Hapsburg. — Rudolph, Count of Hapsburg (1273- 
1291), was elected emperor for the reason, that, while he was a 
brave man, he was not powerful enough to be feared by the aris- 
tocracy. He wisely made no attempt to govern in Italy. He 
was supported by the Church, to which he was submissive. He 



332 MEDIEVAL HISTORY, 

devoted himself to the task of putting down disorders in Ger- 
many. Against Ottocar II., king of Bohemia, who now held 
also Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and who refused to 
acknowledge Rudolph, the emperor twice made war successfully. 
In a fierce battle at the Marchfield, in 1278, Ottocar was slain. 
Aztstria, Styria, and Carniola fell into the hands of the emperor. 
They were given as fiefs to Rudolph's son Albert ; and Carinthia 
to Albert's son-in-law, the Count of Tyrol. This was the founda- 
tion of the power of the house of Hapsburg. Rudolph strove 
with partial success to recover the crowai lands, and did what he 
could to put a stop to private war and to robbery. Numerous 
strongholds of robbers he razed to the ground. His practical 
abandonment of Italy, his partial restoration of order in Germany, 
and his service to the house of Hapsburg, are the principal fea- 
tures of Rudolph's reign. 

Henry VII. (1308-1313): Italy. — Adolphus Of Nassau (1292- 
1298) was hired by Edward I. to declare war against France. 
His doings in Thuringia, which he tried to buy from the Land- 
grave Albert, led the electors to dethrone him, and to choose 
Albert I. (i 298-1 308), Duke 0/ Austria, son of Rudolph. His 
nephew y^/e;?, whom he tried to keep out of his inheritance, mur- 
dered him. Henry VII. (1308-13 13), who was Count oi Luxem- 
burg, the next emperor, did little more than build up his family 
by marrying his ?,onJohn to the granddaughter of King Ottocar. 
John was thus made king of Bohemia. In these times, when the 
emperors were weak, they were anxious to strengthen and enrich 
their own houses. Henry went to Italy to try his fortunes beyond 
the Alps. He was crowned in Pavia king of Italy, and in Rome 
emperor (13 12). But the rival parties quickly rose up against 
him : he was excommunicated by Clement V., an ally of France, 
and died — it was charged, by poison mixed in the sacramental cup 
— in 13 1 3. He was a man of pure and noble character, but the 
time had passed for Italy to be governed by a German sovereign. 

Civil War: Electors at Rense. — One party of the electors 
chose Frederick of Austria (1314-1330), and the other Louis of 
Bavaria (13 14-1347). A terrible civil war, lasting for ten years, 
was the consequence. In a great battle near Miihldorf the Aus- 
trians were defeated, and Frederick was captured. Loins had now 
to encounter the hostility of Vo^te John XXII. (at Avignon), who 
wished to give the imperial crown to Philip the Fair of France. 
Louis maintained that he received the throne, not from the popes, 
but from the electors. He v/as excommunicated by John, who 
refused to sanction the agreement of Louis and of Frederick, now 
set at liberty, to exercise a joint sovereignty. Louis was in Italy 
from 1327 to 1330, where he was crowned emperor by a pope of 
his own creation. All efforts of Louis to make peace with Pope 



GERMANY. 333 

John and his successor, Benedict XII., were foiled by the opposi- 
tion of France. The strife which had been occasioned in Ger- 
many by this interference from abroad created such disaffection 
among the Germans, that the electors met at Rense, in 1338, and 
declared that the elected king of the Germans received his 
authority from the choice of the electoral princes exclusively, and 
was Roman emperor even without being crowned by a pope. 

Deposition of Louis of Bavaria. — The imprudence oi Louis in 
aggrandizing his family, and his assumption of an acknowledged 
papal right in dissolving the marriage of the heiress of Tyrol with 
a son of King John of Bohemia, turned the electors against him. 
In 1346 Pope Clement VI. declared him deposed. The electors 
chose in his place Charles, the Margrave of Moravia, the son of 
King John of Bohemia. Louis did not give up his title, but he 
died soon after. 

Charles IV. (1347-1378). — Charles IV. visited Italy, and was 
crowned emperor (1355) ; but, according to a promise made to the 
Pope, he tarried in Rome only a part of one day. He was crowned 
king of Burgundy at Aries (1365). In Italy "he sold what was 
left of the rights of the empire, sometimes to cities, sometimes to 
tyrants." His principal care was for building up his own heredi- 
tary dominion, which he so enlarged that it extended, at his death, 
from the Baltic almost to the Danube. He fortified and adorned 
Prague, and established there, in 1348, the first German university. 

The Golden Bull. — The great service of Charles IV. to Ger- 
many was in the grant of the charter called the Golden Bull 
(1356). This expressly conferred the right of electing the em- 
peror on the SEVEN electors, who had, in fact, long exercised it. 
These were the archbishops of Mentz, of Trier, and of Cologne, 
and the four secular princes, the King of Bohemia, the Count 
Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of 
Brandenburg. The electoral states were made indivisible and 
inalienable, and hereditary in the male line. The electors were 
to be sovereign within their respective territories, and their persons 
were declared sacred. 

The Black Death. — Germany, like the other countries, was terribly 
afflicted during the reign of Charles by the destructive pestilence that swept 
over the most of Europe (p. 319). One effect was an outbreaking of religious 
fervor. At this time the movement of the " Flagellants," which started in 
the thirteenth century, reached its height in Germany and elsewhere. They 
scourged and lacerated themselves for their sins, marching in processions, and 
inflicting their blows to the sound of music. Another result of the plague 
was a savage persecution of the Jews, who were falsely suspected of poisoning 
wells. Many thousands of them were tortured and killed. 

Anarchy in Germany. — The son of Charles IV. (1378-1400), 
Wcnceslaus, or Wcnzel, was a coarse and cruel king. Under him 
the old disorders of the Interregnum sprang up anew. The towns 



334 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

had to defend themselves against the robber barons, and formed 
confederacies for this purpose. Private war raged all over Ger- 
many. 

Accession of Sigismundr — Wenceslaus was deposed by the 
electors in 1400. But Ricpej-t, the Count Palatine, his successor 
(1400-1410), was able to accompUsh little, in consequence of the 
strife of parties. Sigisniimd (141 0-143 7), brother of Wenceslaus, 
margrave of Brandenburg, and, in right of his wife, king of Hun- 
gary, was chosen emperor, first by a part, and then by all, of the 
electors. The most important events of this period were the 
Council of Constance (1414-1418) and the war with the Hussites. 

John Huss. — The principal end for which the Council of Con- 
stance was called was the healing of the schism in the Church, — 
in consequence of which there were three rival popes, — and the 
securing of ecclesiastical reforms. But at this council y^j/^/z Huss, 
an eminent Bohemian preacher, was tried for heresy. The doctrines 
of Wickliffe had penetrated into Bohemia ; and a strong party, of 
which Huss was the principal leader, had sprung up in favor of in- 
novations, doctrinal and practical, one of which was the giving of 
the cup in the sacrament to the laity. Huss made a great stir by 
his attack upon abuses in the Church. Under a safe-conduct from 
Sigisnnmd, he journeyed to Constance. There he was tried, con- 
demned as a heretic, and burnt at the stake (1415). Jerome of 
Prague, another reformer, was dealt with in the same way by the 
council (1416). 

Hussite War. — The indignation of the followers of Huss was 
such that a great revolt broke out in Bohemia. The leader was a 
brave man, Ziska. The imperial troops, after the coronation of 
Sigismund as king of Bohemia, were defeated, and driven out. 
The Hussite soldiers ravaged the neighboring countries. The 
council of ^«j-<f/ (1431-1449) concluded a treaty with the more 
moderate portion of the Hussites, in which concessions were made 
to them. The Taborites, the more fanatical portion, were at length 
defeated and crushed. 

Switzerland. — Switzerland, originally a part of the kingdom of 
Aries, had been ceded, with this kingdom, to the German Empire 
in 1033. Within it, was established a lay and ecclesiastical feudal- 
ism. In the twelfth century the cities — Zilrich, Basel, Berne, and 
Freibuig — began to be centers of trade, and gained municipal 
privileges. The three mountain cantons — Uri, Schweitz, and 
Unterwalden — cherished the spirit of freedom. The counts of 
Hapsburg, after the beginning of the thirteenth century, exercised 
a certain indefinite jurisdiction in the land. They endeavored to 
transform this into an actual sovereignty. Two of the cantons 
received charters placing them in an immediate relation to the 
empire. After the death of Rudolph I., the three cantons above 



ITALY. 335 

named united in a league. Out of this the Swiss Confederacy 
gradually grew up. There were struggles to cast off foreign con- 
trol ; but the story of William Tell, and other legends of the sort, 
are certainly fabulous. Albert of Austria left to his successor in 
the duchy the task of subduing the rebellion. The Austrians were 
completely defeated at Morgarten, " the Marathon of Switzerland " 
(1315). The Swiss Confederacy was enlarged by the addition of 
Lucerne (1332), Zurich and Glarus (1351), Zug (1352), and of 
the city oi Be7'ne in 1353. The battle oi Sempach (1386) brought 
another great defeat upon the Austrians. There, if we may be- 
lieve an ancient song, a Swiss hero, Arnold of Winkelried, grasped 
as many of the spear-points as he could reach, as a sheaf in his 
arms, and devoted himself to death, opening thus a path in which 
his followers rushed to victory. Once more the Swiss triumphed 
at Ndfels (1388). From that time they were left to the enjoyment 
of their freedom. 

II. ITALY. 

Guelfs and Ghibellines: Freedom in the Cities. — The inveter- 
ate foes of Italy were foreign interference and domestic faction. 
After the death of Frederick II., the war of the popes against his 
successors lasted for seventeen years. After the defeat of Man- 
fred (1266), Conradin, the last of the Hohenstaufens, died on the 
scaffold at Naples. Charles of Anjou lost Sicily through the re- 
bellion of the Sicilian Vespers (1282) ; and dominion in that island, 
separated from Naples, passed to the house of Aragon. The papal 
states, after the election of Rudolph of Hapsburg, became a distinct 
sovereignty of the pontiffs. The bitter strife of the Guelfs and 
Ghibellines went on in the Italian cities. The Genoese, who were 
Guelfic, defeated the Pisans in 1284 ; and "-Pisa, which had ruined 
Amalfi, was now ruined by Genoa.'' Florence, which was Guelfic, 
grew in strength. Genoa and Venice became rivals in the contest 
for the control of the Mediterranean. In Florence, new factions, 
the Neri and Bianchi (Blacks and Whites), appeared; the Neri 
being violent Guelfs, and the Bianchi being at first moderate 
Guelfs and then Ghibellines. Pope Boniface VIII. invited into 
Italy Charles of Valois. He was admitted to Florence (1301), 
and gave the supremacy there to the Guelfic side. The coming of 
the Emperor Henry VII. into Italy (1310) was marked by a tem- 
porary, but the last, revival of imperial feeling. The connection 
of the popes with the French houses of Anjou and Valois led to 
the " Babylonian Exile " at Avignon, during which Italy was com- 
paratively free, both from imperial and papal control. During the 
period of the civil wars, while there was nominally a conflict be- 
tween the party of the pope and the party of the emperor, the Guelfs 
were devoted to the destruction of feudalism, and to the building- 



336 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

up of commerce and republican institutions ; while the Ghihellines, 
dreading anarchy, resisted the incoming of the new order of things. 
It was in this period that Dante produced his immortal poem, which 
sprang out of the midst of the contest of Guelf and Ghibelline (p. 
307). Dante was himself a GhibeUineand an imperialist. In the 
course of these conflicts, the plebeian class, before without power, 
is advanced. Older families of nobility die out, or are reduced in . 
influence. New families rise to prominence and power. The 
burghers band together in arts or guilds ; and out of these, in their 
corporate character, the governments of the cities are formed. 
"•Ancients," and "priors," the heads of the "arts," supersede the 
consuls. The " podesta " is more and more limited to a judicial 
function. In some of the Guelf cities, there is " a gonfalonier of 
justice," to curb the nobility. In Florence, there were also twenty 
subordinate gonfaloniers. 

The final triumph of Guelfs and of republicanism in Florence was in 1253. 
The body of the citizens established their sovereignty. When, in 1266, citi- 
zenship was confined to those who were enrolled in the guilds, the nobles, or 
Grandi, were wholly excluded from the government. This led them to drop 
their titles and dignities in order to enroll themselves in these industrial 
societies. The feuds of factions, especially of the " Whites " and " Blacks," 
sprang up next. In the latter part of the fourteenth century, strife arose 
between the " Lesser Arts," or craftsmen whose trades were subordinate 
to the " Greater Arts," and these last. The mob in Florence drove the 
" Signory," or chief magistrates, out of the public palace. This was the " Tu- 
mult of the Ciompi," — C/cwz/z signifying wool-carders, who gave their name 
to the whole faction. Afterwards, of their own accord, they gave back the 
government to the priors of the Greater Arts. The effect of these disturb- 
ances was to reduce all classes to a level. The way was open for families, 
like the Albizzi and Medici, to build up a virtual control by wealth and per- 
sonal qualities. 

The Generals in the Cities. — In the cities, there were " cap- 
tains of the people," who carried on war, — leaders of the Guelfs or 
Ghibellines, as either might be uppermost. They were persons 
who were skilled in arms : these were often nobles who had been 
merged in the body of citizens. In this way, there arose in the 
cities of Northern Italy ruling houses or dynasties ; as the Delia 
Scala in Verona, the Polenta at Ravenna, etc. In Tuscany, where 
the commercial power of Florence was so great, the communes as 
yet kept themselves free from hereditary rulers ; yet, from time to 
time, their liberties were exposed to attack from successful gen- 
erals. 

The Tyrants. — At the beginning of the fourteenth century, as 
the fury of the civil wars declined, the cities were left more and 
more under the rule of masters called " tyrants." Tyranny, as of 
old, was a term for absolute authority, however it might be wielded. 
The visits of the emperors Henry VII., and Louis IV. of Bavaria, 
and Qi John of Bohemia, son of Henry VII., had no important 



ITALY. 337 

political effect, except to bring increased power to the Ghibelline 
despots. Thus, after the interference of Louis IV. (1327), the Vis- 
conti established their power in Milan. But the changes in Italy 
after this epoch gave to the Ghibellines no permanent advantage 
over their adversaries. The leader of the Guelfs for a long time 
was Robert, king of Naples (1309-1343). 

The Classes of Despots. — The methods by which the Emperor Frederic II. 
governed in Italy, and which he had partly learned from the Saracens in Sicily, furnished an 
example which the Italian despots followed later. He was imitated in his system of taxation, in 
his creation of monopolies, in the luxury and magnificence of his court, and in his patronage of 
polite culture. His vicar in the North of Italy, Ezzelino da Romano (1194-1259), who was 
captain, in the Ghibelline interest, in Verona, Padua, and other cities, was guilty of massa- 
cres and all sorts of cruelties, the story of which exercised a horrible fascination over others 
who came after. At last he was hunted down by Venice and a league of cities, and captured; 
but he refused to take food, tore his bandages from his wounds, and died under the ban of the 
Church. The despots of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries have been divided by Mr. Sy- 
nionds into si,x classes. T\\^ first cla.ss had a certain hereditary right from the previous exer- 
cise of lordship, as the house of Este in Ferrara. The second class, as the I 'isconti family in 
Milan, had been vicars of the empire. The third class were captains, or podestas, chosen by 
the burghers to their office, but abusing it to enslave the cities. Most of the tyrants of Lom- 
bardy got their power in this way, Thejbnrtk class is made up of the Condottieri, like Fran- 
cesco Sforza at Milan. 'X\\e.fiftli class includes the nephews or sons of popes, and is of later 
origin, like the Borgia of Romagna. Their governments had less stability. The sixth class 
is that of eminent citizens, like the Medici aX Florence and the Bcntivogli of Bologna. These 
acquired undue authority by wealth, sometimes by personal qualities and noble descent. 
Among those who are called " despots " were individuals of worth, moderation, and culture. 
The records of many of them are filled with tragic scenes of violence and crime. To maintain 
their hated rule, they were impelled to the practice of barbarities hardly ever surpassed. (J. 
A. Symonds, Renaissance in Italy, vol. i. chap, ii.) 

Condottieri. — With the end of the civil wars, there appear " the 
companies of adventure," or mercenary troops. The burghers, 
having put down the nobility and achieved their independence, 
lay aside their arms. They are busy in manufactures and trade. 
The despots and the republics prefer to hire foreign adventurers, 
the " free companies," who were a curse to Italy. Their occupa- 
tion, which was a profitable one, was taken up by natives. These 
were the condottieri. Their leaders introduced cavalry and more 
skillful methods of fighting. But the battles were bloodless games 
of strategy, and military energy declined. At the same time in- 
trigue and state-craft were the instruments of political aggrandize- 
ment. One of these new leaders was Sforza Attendolo, whose son 
became Duke of Milan. 

Five States in Italy. — In the middle of the fifteenth century, 
we find, as the political result of the changes of the preceding cen- 
tury and a half, five principal communities in Italy. These powers 
are the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, the republic of 
Florence, the republic of Venice, and the principality of the Pope. 
A brief sketch will be given of each of these states down to 1447, 
when Nicholas V. reestablished the papacy in its strength at Rome, 
after the exile at Avignon (1305), and the ecclesiastical convul- 
sions that followed it. 

Lower Italy. — Robert the Wise (of Anjou) (1309-1343), the 
successor of Charles II. of Naples and the champion of the 
Guelfs, could not extend his power over Sicily, where Frederick 



338 MEDIiEVAL HISTORY. 

//. (1296-1337), the son of Peter oi Aragon, reigned. Robert's 
granddaughter, Joan I., after a career of crime and misfortune, 
was strangled in prison by Charles Durazzo, the last male descend- 
ant of the house of Anjou in Lower Italy (1382), who seized on 
the government. Joan II., the last heir oi Durazzo (1414-1435), 
first adopted Alfonso V. of Aragon, and then Louis III. of Anjou 
and his brother Rene. Alfonso, who inherited the crown of Sicily, 
united both kingdoms (1435), after a war ^xihRene and the Vis- 
conti of Milan. By this contest, Italy was divided into two parties, 
composed of the respective adherents of the houses of Anjou and 
Aragon. The rights of Rene were to revert later to the crown of 
France, and to serve as a ground for new wars. For twenty-three 
years Alfonso reigned wisely and prosperously in Southern Italy. 
He was a patron of letters, and promoted peace among the Italian 
states. 

The Milanese : Sforza. — Another great power was growing up 
in the North. The greatness of the Visconti family dates from 
John, Archbishop of Milan, who reigned there, and died in 1354. 
Gian Galeazzo Viseo nli heca.me sole master of Milan in 1385, and 
extended his dominion over Lombardy. He bought of the Em- 
peror IVenceslaus the ducal title. Twenty-six cities, with their 
territories, were subject to him. But at Galeazzo'' s death, his state 
fell to pieces. The condottieri, whom he had kept under, broke 
loose from control; and in 1450, one of them, Francesco Sforza, 
with the help of the Venetians, seized on the supreme power, 
which his family continued to hold for fifty years. 

Venice. — Venice, in the fourteenth century, was as strong as 
any Itahan state. Its constitution was of gradual growth. The 
doge, elected by the people, divided power in 1032 with a senate ; 
and in 11 72 the Gravid Council 'wzs organized. This council by 
degrees absorbed the powers of government, which thus became 
an aristocracy. In 1297 the Senate became hereditary in a 
few families. In 131 1 the powerful Council of Ten was con- 
stituted. For a long period Venice was not ambitious of power 
in Italy, but was satisfied with her commerce with the East. Her 
contest with Genoa began in 1352, and lasted for thirty years. 
In the war of Chioggia, — so called from a town twenty-five miles 
south of Venice, — the Venetians were defeated by Luciano Doria 
in a sea-fight on the Adriatic. He blockaded Venice ; but Doria, 
in turn, was blockaded in Chioggia by the Venetians, and forced to 
surrender. After reducing the naval power of Genoa, they added 
Verona, Vicenza, and Padua to their territories (1410). Under 
Francesco Foscari, who was doge from 1423 to 1457, Venice took 
an active part in Italian affairs. 

Florence : the Medici. — In Florence, the Medici family gained 
an influence which gave them a practical control of the govern- 



ITALY. 339 

ment. In 1378 Salves tro ^e Media signalized himself by a suc- 
cessful resistance to an oligarchical faction composed partly of 
the old nobility. The brilliant period in the history of Florence 
begins with this triumph of the democracy. Pisa was bought from 
the Duke of Milan, and forced to submit to Florentine rule (1406). 
/o/in de Medici, a very successful merchant, was twice chosen gon- 
falonier (1421). His son Cosmo I., who was born in 1389, was 
also a merchant, possessed of great wealth. He attained to the 
leading offices in the state, having overcome the Albizzi family, 
at whose instigation he was for a while banished. Cosmo ruled 
under the republican forms, but with not less authority on that 
account. He was distinguished for his patronage of art and let- 
ters. By his varied services to Florence, he earned the title of 
"Father of his Country," which was given him by a public decree. 

The Roman Principality : Rienzi. — After the popes took up 
their abode in Avignon, in the first half of the fourteenth century, 
Rome was distracted by the feuds of leading families who built 
for themselves strongholds in the city. In 1347 the Romans, 
fired by the enthusiast Rienzi, who sought to restore the old 
Roman liberty, undertook to set up a government after the an- 
cient model. Rienzi was chosen tribune. He found much favor 
in other cities of Italy. But his head was turned by the seeming 
realization of his dreams. He was driven out of Italy by the car- 
dinals and the nobles. He returned afterwards, sent by Pope 
Innocent VI., to aid in v/inning back Rome to subjection to the 
Holy See. But his power was gone. He disgusted the people 
with his pomps and shows, and, while trying to escape in dis- 
guise, was put to death (1354). Cardinal Albonioz succeeded 
in reuniting the dissevered parts of the papal kingdom. But in 
the period of the ScJiism (13 78-141 7), in the cities old dynas- 
ties were revived, and new ones arose ; towns and territories were 
ceded to nobles as fiefs ; and a degree of freedom almost amount- 
ing to independence was conceded to old republics, as Rome, 
Perugia, and Bologna. It was the work of Pope Nicholas V. 
and his successors (from 1477) to regain and cement anew the 
fragments of the papal principality. 

Literature and Art. — In this period, in the midst of political 
agitation in Italy, there was a brilliant development in the de- 
partments of literature and art. The major part of Dante's life 
(1265-1321) falls within the thirteenth century. Petrarch (1304- 
1374), Boccaccio (1313-1375), a master in Italian prose, and 
Dante, are the founders of Italian literature. They are followed 
by an era of study and culture, rather than of original production. 
In the arts, Venice and Pisa first became eminent. The church 
of St. Mark was built at Venice, in the Byzantine style, in 107 1. 
At about the same time the famous cathedral at Pisa was begun ; 



340 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

which was followed, in the twelfth century, by the Baptistery and 
the Leaning Toiver. The Campo Santo, or cemetery, was built 
in 1278. In the thirteenth century, when architectural industry 
was so active, numerous high brick towers were built in Florence 
for purposes of defense. Some of them remain " to recall the 
bloody feuds of the irreconcilable factions of the nobility. In 
these conflicts, the strife was carried on from tower to tower, from 
house to house : streets were barricaded with heavy chains, and 
homes made desolate with fire and sword." Churches and great 
public buildings were constructed in this period. At the end of 
the thirteenth century the church of Santa Croce was built at Flor- 
ence ; and in the century following, BriincUeschi, the reviver of 
classical art in Italy, placed the great cupola on the Cathedral. 
The Gothic cathedral of Milan, with its wilderness of statues, was 
begun in 1346. Cimabue, who died about 1302, and Giotto, who 
died about 1337, laid the foundations of the modern Italian schools 
of painting. 

Trade and Commerce. — The seaports, Venice and Genoa, 
were centers of a flourishing commerce, extending to the far East 
and to the coasts of Spain and France. The interior cities — 
Milan with its two hundred thousand inhabitants, Verona, Flor- 
etice — were centers of manufactures and of trade. The Italians 
were the first bankers in Europe. The bank of Venice was estab- 
lished in 1 1 71, and the bank of Genoa, although it was pro- 
jected earher, was founded in 1407. The financial deahngs of 
Italian merchants spread over all Europe. 

Morality. — The one thing lacking in Italy was a broader spirit 
of patriotism and a higher tone of morality. Advance in civiliza- 
tion was attended with corruption of morals. 

HI. SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 

Historical Geography. — Resistance to the Arabs in Spain 
began in the northern mountainous region of Catitabria and 
Asturia, which even the West Goths had not wholly subdued, 
although Asturia was called Gothia. Asturia, a Christian princi- 
pality (732), expanded into the kingdom called Leon (916), of 
which Castile was an eastern county. East of Leon, there grew 
up the kingdom of Navarre, mostly on the southern, but partly 
on the northern side of the Pyrenees. On the death of Sancho 
the Great, it was broken up (1035). ^^ about the same time 
the Ommiad caliphate was broken up into small kingdoms (1031). 
After the death of Sancho, or early in the eleventh century, we 
find in Northern Spain, beginning on the west and moving east- 
ward, the kingdom of Leon, the beginnings of the kingdom of 
Castile, the reduced kingdom of Navarre, the beginnings of the 
kingdom of Aragon, and, between Aragon and the Mediterranean, 



SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 341 

Christian states which had been comprised in the Spanish March 
over wliich the Franks had ruled. The two states which were des- 
tined to attain to the chief importance were Castile and Aragon. 
Of these, Castile was eventually to be to Spain what France was to 
all Gaul. Ultimately the union of Castile and Aragon gave rise 
to the great Spanish monarchy of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- 
turies. The four kingdoms of Leon, Castile, Aragon, and Na- 
varre, after the death of Sancho, as time went on, were joined 
and disjoined among themselves in many different ways. Castile 
and Leon were finally united in 1230. Portugal, lying on the 
ocean, was partly recovered from the Arabs towards the close of 
the eleventh century, and was a county of Leoti and Castile until, 
in 1 1 39, it became a kingdom. From this time Castile, Aragon, 
and Portugal wQxt the three antagonists of Moslem rule. Each 
of these kingdoms advanced. Portugal spread especially along 
the Atlantic coast ; Aragon, along the coast of the Mediterranean ; 
Castile, the principal power, spread in the interior, and included 
by far the greater part of what is now Spain. In the latter part 
of the thirteenth century the Moslems were confined to the king- 
dom of Granada in the South, which was conquered by Castile 
and Aragon (1492), whose sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, 
were united in marriage. Their kingdoms were united in 15 16. 
In the latter part of the Middle Ages, Aragon, from its situation on 
the^eastern coast, played an important part in the politics of Eu- 
rope. Castile and Portugal led the way in maritime exploration. 

The Moors. — It has been already related (p. 282), that, after 
the fall of the Ommiad caliphate, African Mohammedans came 
over to the help of their Spanish brethren. These Moors did not 
supplant the Arabic speech or culture. The two principal inva- 
sions of the Moors were the invasion by the Almoravides (1086- 
II 10), and that by the Ahnohades (1146). 

Aragon : Navarre. — The kingdoms of Aragon and Castile 
existed for centuries side by side. Aragon sought to extend its 
conquests along the eastern coast ; Castile, to enlarge itself toward 
the south. James I., or James the Conqueror (i 213-1276), joined 
the Moslem state of Valencia, by conquest, to his kingdom of 
Aragon, to which Catalonia had already been added. The union 
of these peoples developed a national character of a definite type. 
In its pride of birth and of blood, its tenacious clinging to tradi- 
tional rights, and in its esteem of military prowess before intel- 
lectual culture, it resembled the old Spartan temper. Peter ILL, 
(1276-1285), the son of y<:?/;/<?j- /., united with the three states 
Sicily, which, though it became a separate kingdom, gave to the 
house of Aragon its influence in Southern Italy. Nearly the 
whole of the fourteenth century was taken up by Aragon in 
the acquisition of Sardinia, whicli the Pope had ceded, and in the 



342 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 

endless wars, connected with this matter, which it waged with the 
Genoese. In 1410 the ruhng house of Barcelona became ex- 
tinct. In the revolutions that followed, Navarre and Aragon 
were united mxAtx John II., second son of Ferdinand /., king of 
Aragon. yohn, by his marriage with Blanche of Navarre, shared 
her father's throne with her after his death. He was guilty of the 
crime of poisoning his own son Don Carlos, Prince of Vianne. 
John was the father of Ferdinand " the Catholic," under whose 
scepter the kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, and Navarre were 
brought together. 

Castile. — Ferdinand III. ( St. Ferdinand ) (12 14 -1252), in war- 
fare with the Moors extended the kingdom of Castile and Leon 
over Cordova, Seville, and Cadiz. His son Alfonso X., or Al- 
fonso the Wise (125 2-1 284), cultivated astronomy and astrology, 
was fond of music and poetry, enlarged the University of Sala- 
manca, gave a code of laws to his kingdom, and caused historical 
books to be written ; but he wasted his treasures in pomp and 
luxury, and in ambitious designs upon the German imperial crown. 
He allowed the Meri7iides, new swarms of African Saracens, to 
spread in the South of Spain. Alfonso XI. (1312-1350), after 
a stormy contest with the nobles during his minority, di itinguished 
himself by the victory of Tarifa over the Moors (1340), and the 
taking of the c\ty oi Algeciras (1344). His enemies respected 
him ; and when he died of the plague, in his camp before Gibral- 
tar, the king of Granada went into mourning (1350). The reign 
of Peter the Cruel (1350-1369) was filled up with perfidies and 
crimes. The league of the nobles against him only incited him 
to fresh barbarities. He committed the most atrocious murders, 
sometimes with his own hand. Protected by the Black Prince, he 
was at first victorious against Henry of Transtaniare his rival ; and 
Du Guescli?i was defeated in the battle of Nafara in 1367. After- 
wards Peter was obliged to surrender, and was killed by the dagger 
of Henry in a personal encounter. The power of the nobihty in 
Castile had so increased during the civil troubles that Henry III. 
(1390-1406) had to sell his cloak to procure for himself a dinner. 
Roused by this humihation to assert his authority, he succeeded 
with the help of the Cortes in humbling the nobility ; but John 
II. (1406-1454) was compelled by the most powerful lords, after 
a protracted contest, to strike off the head of an unworthy favorite, 
Alvai'o de Luna, under whose despotic control he had placed the 
government (1454). There was a worse state of anarchy under 
Henry IV., John's successor (1454-1474). 

Constitutions of Aragon and Castile. — The political insti- 
tutions of Aragon and Castile are specially worthy of note. The 
kings of Aragon were very much restricted in their authority by 
the Coi'tes, or general assembly, composed of the higher and lower 



SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 343 

classes of nobles, the clergy, and the cities, which by their trade 
and manufactures had risen to wealth and power. With the Cortes 
was lodged the right to make laws and to lay taxes. At Saragossa 
in 1287, it was likewise ordained that they should enjoy certain 
important privileges. The concurrence of the estates was to be 
required in the choice of the king's counselors ; and in case the 
king without the warrant of a judgment of the highest judicial 
officer, the jiisticiajy, and of the estates, should adjudge to pun- 
ishment any member of the body, they should have the right 
to elect another king. These " privileges " were lost under Peter 
IV. (1336-1387), but the old rights were confirmed. To the 
justiciary was given the power to determine all conflicts of the 
estates with the king or with one another. His influence increased 
as time went on. He was the first magistrate in the kingdom. 

In Castile, as early as 1169 the deputies of the cities were 
admitted into the Cortes. We find the cities, at the end of the 
thirteenth century, forming a confederation, called a " fraternity," 
against the nobles. Their deputies at that time had more power 
in the assemblies than the nobles and clergy. But the power of 
the nobles increased, especially from the accession of Henry of 
Transtamare. In the overthrow of Alvaro de Luna, their triumph 
was complete : they proved themselves to be stronger than the 
king. 

The Castilians. — The Spanish Mohammedans were superior in refinement to their 
Christian adversaries. The latter learned much from their enemies, without losing the patriotic 
and religious ardor which was fostered by the popular minstrelsy, and by the romantic 
exploits and encounters with the " infidels." The result was the peculiar spirit of Castilian 
chivalry. The early development of popular government in Castile increased the feeling of 
personal independence. Outside of Italy, no cities of Europe in the Middle Ages were so rich 
and flourishing as the cities of Castile. Materials of commerce were afforded by the famous 
breed of sheep, and by the products of the soil and of manufactures. The nobles gained great 
wealth, and had vast estates in the country. They held court as petty sovereigns: Alvaro de 
Luna had twenty thousand vassals. They were inured to war, they were haughty and over- 
bearing, and complaints of their oppressions were frequent on the part of the lower orders. 
The Castilian ecclesiastics were often lax in their morals. The higher prelates were possessed 
of great riches and authority. In the beginning of the fifteenth century the people in Castile 
had more power, compared with the power of the sovereign, than in any other European coun- 
try. But the representation of the commons was exclusively from the cities, and not, as in 
England, largely from the landed proprietors. 

The Aragonese. — The extraordinary authority exercised by t\ie justiciary, or justice, 
of Aragon was perhaps the most remarkable feature of its constitution. Dwelling on the ocean, 
the Aragonese built up a naval power. Barcelona, after its union with Aragon, was the seat 
of a flourishing commerce, and framed the first written code of maritime law now extant. Its 
municipal officers were merchants and mechanics. Membership in the guilds was sought by 
nobles, as rendering them eligible to the magistracy. The burghers became proud and inde- 
pendent. The Catalans did not hesitate to assert their rights against encroachments of the 
Icings. In r43o the University of Barcelona was founded. " After the genuine race of trouba- 
dours had passed away," says Mr, Prescott, " the Proven9al or Limousin verse was carried to 
its highest excellence by the poets of Valencia" (Prescott's History of the Reign of Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella, Introduction). 

Portugal: Commerce and Navigation. — About 1095 Alfonso 
VI., king of Castile and Leon, gave the territory between the 
Mi?iho and the Douro to his son-in-law, Henry of Burgundy, who 
assumed the title of Count of Portugal. His son and successor, 
Alfonso /., who defeated the Moors at Ourique in 1139, was 



344 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

hailed as king by his army, and later was confirmed in the title by 
the Pope ( 1 1 85 ) . He was acknowledged as independent by the 
king of Castile. In a diet at Laimego, he gave an excellent con- 
stitution and body of laws to his people (1143). Soon after, he 
conquered Lisbon, and made it his capital. His son, Sancho I. 
(i 185- 1 211), was distinguished both for his victories over the 
Moors and for his encouragement of tillage and of farm-laborers. 
Until we reach the fifteenth century, Portuguese history is occupied 
with wars with the Moors and the Castilians, contests of the kings 
with the nobles, and struggles between rival aspirants for the throne, 
and between the sovereigns on the one hand and the clergy and 
the popes on the other. \Jr\d&x Dionysius JII. (12 79-1325) there 
began a new era, in which the Portuguese became eminent for in- 
dustry and learning, and in commerce and navigation. He founded 
the University of Lisbon. Alfonso IV. (1325-135 7) continued 
on the same path. But he caused Jnes de Castro, who had been 
secretly married to his son, to be murdered (1354) ; a crime which 
the son, Peter I. (135 7-1367), after his accession, avenged by caus- 
ing the hearts of the murderers to be torn out. John I. (1385- 
1433) repelled a great invasion of the Castilians, in a battle near 
Lisbon, and became at first regent and then king. He was the 
founder of a new family. By him Ceiita in Africa was captured 
from the Moors. Madeira was discovered (14 19), and by the 
burning of the forests was prepared for the cultivation of sugar- 
cane and the vine. In 1432 the Portuguese occupied the Azores. 
A most active interest in voyages of discovery was taken by Prince 
Henry the Navigator (i 394-1460), fourth son of YJm.'g John I. 
and of Philippa, daughter of Johji of Gaunt. 

IV. THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES. 

The Baltic Lands. — There are three divisions of Europe which 
neither Charlemagne's Empire nor the Eastern Empire included. 
The first is Spain, which had been comprised in the old Roman 
Empire. The second is Great Britain and the adjacent islands. 
Only a portion of Britain was held as a province by old Rome. 
The third is the two Scandinavian peninsulas, — Denmark, and 
Norway and Sweden, with the Slavonic lands to the east and 
south, which may be said to have had a common relation to the 
Baltic. The Scaiidincvians had their period of foreign conquest 
and settlement, but their settlements abroad remained in no con- 
nection with the countries whence they came. Sweden was cut 
off from the ocean. "The history of Sweden" — as Mr. Free- 
man, to whom we owe a lucid exposition of this subject, has 
pointed out — " mainly consists in the growth and the loss of her 
dominion in the Baltic lands out of her own peninsula. It is 
only in quite modem times that the miion of the crowns, though 



SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 345 

not of the kingdoms, of Sweden and Norway, has created a power 
wholly peninsular and equally Baltic and oceanic." The Germans 
and Scandinavians spread their dominion over the Aryan and non- 
Aryan tribes on the south and east of the Baltic. Finland, inhab- 
ited by a Turanian or Scythic people whose language is akin to 
that of the Hungarians, was long under Swedish dominion. Now 
Finland and the east of the Baltic are in Russia, while the southern 
and south-eastern shore of the Baltic is German. Russia, in 
modem days, having no oceanic character like Great Britain and 
Spain, has expanded her dominion westward to the Baltic, but 
mainly to the east over Central Asia. She has built up a continental, 
instead of a maritime and colonial, empire. 

Conversion of Scandinavia. — In the earlier part of the Middle 
Ages, the two Scandinavian peninsulas are known only through the 
piratical expeditions which they send forth upon the two adjacent 
seas. By the way of the North Sea, the Northmen reached France, 
England, Greenland, and America; by the way of the Baltic, 
Russia. The conversion of Denmark to Christianity was com- 
pleted in the eleventh century, under Canute ; that of Norway in 
the tenth, and of Sweden in the eleventh. After the foreign 
settlements were made, and v/ith the introduction of the gospel, 
piracy ceased, and civilization began (p. 239). 

Denmark. — After Canute VI. (1182), IValdemar JI., \heNic- 
torious, was the prominent personage in Danish history. He con- 
quered Holstein and Pomeraiiia, — in fact, every thing north of 
the Elbe and the Elde. In 1219 he overran Estlwnia, in a cru- 
sade for the forcible conversion of the pagans, when the Danish 
standard, the Dannebi'og, — a white cross on a blood-red field, — 
began to be used. On his return, he was treacherously captured, 
and with his son was kept in prison in Mecklenburg for three 
years, by Henry, Count of Schwei'in. Waldemar was defeated in 
1227, in the war undertaken to recover the conquests which he 
had given up as the price of his release. He was the author of 
a code of laws. 

Union of Crowns. — Waldemar III. (1340-13 75) regained 
the conquests of Waldemar II. This brought on a general war, 
in which the Hanseatic League, as well as Sweden, were among his 
antagonists (1363). Denmark, having control of the entrance to 
the Baltic, and exacting tolls of vessels, was a second time involved 
in war with that great mercantile confederacy and its allies, and 
was worsted in the conflict (1372). Waldemar's second daughter, 
Margaret, married Hakon VL, King of Norway. Hakon's son 
Olaf was a child at his father's death, and the regency was held 
by his mother. Olaf (1376-1387) was elected by the Estates 
king of Denmark. His mother, now regent in both countries, 
became queen in both after Olafs death. In 1388 Margaret 



346 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

accepted the crown of Sweden ; the Swedes having revolted against 
the king, Albert, who was defeated and captured at Falkceping 

(1389)- 

Sweden. — War existed for centuries between the Swedes and 
the Goths, the inhabitants of the southern part of the peninsula. 
Each race contended for supremacy. Political union began with 

Waldemar (1250-1275), son of Birger Jarl (Earl Birger). 
Stockholm was founded in 1255. Private wars and judicial com- 
bats were suppressed, commerce was encouraged, and the condition 
of women improved. Large duchies were estabhshed, afterwards 
a source of discord. Magnus I. (1279^1290) was surnamed 
Ladulas, or Barnlock, for protecting the granaries of the peasants 
from the rapacious nobles. His reign was succeeded by war be- 
tween his sons. As the result of a popular revolt in iT,ig, Magnus 
Sniek, an infant, became king, and during the regency succeeded, 
by right of his mother, to the crown of Norway, where he (1350) 
placed on the throne his son Hako?t. But when Magnus attempt- 
ed to rule without the senate, he was deposed, and Albert of 
Mecklenburg was elected king (1365). But the nobles were 
supreme : in 1388 they deposed Albert, and gave the crown to 
Margaret of Norway and Denmark. Albert was held a prisoner 
for six years, and then renounced his claim to the throne. 

Norway. — Magnus III. (1095-1103), called from his Scottish 
dress Barefoot, united the Hebrides and Orcades into a kingdom 
for his son Sigurd, and invaded Iceland, where he died. Sigurd 
inherited the spirit of Harold Fairhair (860-about 933), through 
whom Norway had been made a united kingdom. He made a 
voyage to Jerusalem through the Mediterranean, and was a renowned 
crusader. After his death ( 1 130), there were fierce contests for the 
throne, the more fierce as illegitimate sons had the same right in 
law as those born in wedlock. In 115 2 a papal legate established 
a hierarchy in Norway, which interfered in the struggle. Conflicts 
arose between the clerical party and the national party, in which 
the latter at length gained the day. Under Hakon VI., Iceland 
was conquered (1260). Magnus VI. (i 263-1 280) brought in an 
era of quiet, without stifling popular freedom. The cities en- 
gaged actively in manufactures and commerce. Magnus strength- 
ened and organized the military and naval force. By him the 
Hebrides were ceded to Scotland. Under Eric (i 280-1 299), 
called Priest-hater, there was a struggle to curb the power of the 
clergy and nobles, in which the king was aided by the peasants. 
He was worsted in the conflict with the Hanse towns, and com- 
pelled to join their League. The accession of Magnus Sfnek, the 
son of his daughter, to the throne of Norway (1319), led event- 
ually to the Union of Calmar (1397), in which Sweden, Norway, 
and Denmark were brought together. 



POLAND AND RUSSIA. 34/ 

" The situation of Norway, during the Middle Ages, might be 
shortly described as an absolute monarchy resting almost directly 
on one of the most democratic states of society in Europe." The 
greater families, by the partition of their estates, became a part of 
the class of small land-owners. Between them and the king there 
was no intermediate class. 

After tlie Union of Calmar. — After the death of Margaret, who 
governed the united kingdoms after the union, Eric XIII. of Pome- 
rania succeeded. The union was shaken by the revolt of Schles- 
wig and of Holstein, and was dissolved on the death of Christopher 
of Bavaria (1448), who had been chosen king. The Swedes broke 
off, and made Charles Canutson king, under the name of Charles 
VIII. Denmark and Nonvay remained united ; and under Chris- 
tian I. of the house of Oldenlutrg, whom they made king, Schleswig 
and Holstein were again attached to Denmark (1459). 

V. POLAND AND RUSSIA. 

The Slavonic Tribes. — The settlement of the Hungarians (Magyars) 
in Europe had the effect to divide the Slavonic tribes into three general 
groups. The northern Slaves were separated from the Slaves south of the 
Danube, — the inhabitants of Servia, Croatia, Dalmatia, etc. The north- 
western Slaves bordered on the Western Empire. The states of Boke?nta 
and Polatid grew up among them. On the east of this group of Slaves were 
the Russians. Both Poland and Russia became independent kingdoms. In 
the course of history, a part of the north Slavonic lands, those which are 
represented by Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Saxony, were 
Germanized. Lands in the soiith-ivest, as Bohemia and Moravia, remained 
predominantly Slavonic in speech. A central region formed the kingdom 
of Poland. On the east were the Slavonic tribes which were the nucleus 
of modern Russia. 

Lithuanians and Prussians. — Both Poland and Russia were originally 
cut off from the Baltic by other races. Such were the non-Aryan Fins in 
Esthonia (Esthland) and Livonia (Livland). Such, also, were the Aryans 
of the Lettic branch, of whom the Lithuanians and the Prussians were the 
principal divisions. The Lithuanians formed at one time a strong state. 
The Prussians finally gave their name to the Teutonic kingdom in which they 
were absorbed. 

The Poles. — The Poles derive their name from a word meaning plains. 
They were inhabitants of the plains. They were the strongest of a group of 
tribes dwelling between the Oder and the Vistula, and holding the coast be- 
tween their mouths. Between them and the sea, on the east of the Vistula, 
were the Prtissians. 

Poland : its Constitution. — In the tenth century the lechs, or 
Poles, on the Vistula, had acquired considerable power, and had 
a center at Gnesen, which remained the metropolis of Poland. 
There are legends of a first duke, Fiast by name, A dynasty 
which bore his name continued in Poland until 1370; in Silesia, 
until 1675. Miecislas I. was converted to Christianity by his wife, 
a Bohemian princess. He did homage to the Emperor Otto I. 
(978). Boles lav I. (992) aspired to the regal dignity, and had 



348 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

himself crowned as king by his bishops. Gregory VIL excommu- 
nicated him, deprived him of the title of king, and laid Poland 
under an interdict. Boleslav III., the Victorious (1102-1138), 
subdued the Pomeranians, and compelled them to receive Chris- 
tianity. He divided his kingdom among his four sons. Silesia 
became an independent duchy. A long crusade was carried on 
against the Frnssiafis, a heathen people, who attacked the Poles, 
by the "Brethren of the soldiers of Christ," and the "Teutonic 
knights," two orders which were united (about 1226). The Teu- 
tonic knights at length became the enemies of the Poles. The 
savage Lithuanians assailed them on the north. From the anarchy 
that reigned, Poland was rescued by Casimir III., the Great (1333- 
1370), who defeated the Russians, and carried his eastern boundary 
as far as the Dnieper. Prior to this time, Poland was an important 
kingdom. Casimir framed a code of written laws for his people, 
and gave an impulse to commerce. But in order to secure the 
election of his nephew, Louis king of Hungary (i 370-1382), he 
had to increase the powers and privileges of the nobles. The ac- 
cession of Louis terminated the long rivalry of Poland and Hun- 
gary. He, like Casimir, died without children. The nobles made 
Jagellon, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, his successor (1386), 
who took the name of Vladislav II. Under a series of conquering 
princes, Lithuania had extended its dominion over the neighbor- 
ing Russian lands, and become a strong state. Vladislav was 
chosen on the condition that he should espouse the daughter of 
the last king, and, with his nation, embrace Christianity. This 
event doubled the territory of Poland. The Teutonic Knights, 
who ruled from the Oder to the Gulf of Finland, were now over- 
come. The treaty of Thorn (1466) confined their dominion to 
Eastern Prussia. The misfortune of Poland was its political con- 
stitution. Although the monarchy was not yet completely elective, 
but hereditary in the house of Jagellon, the election of every king 
had to be sanctioned by the nobles. They alone took part in the 
diet, and held the offices and honors. There was no burgher class, 
no "third estate." Every man who owned and was able to equip 
a horse was counted as a noble. The burden of taxation fell on 
the peasants. 

Natural Features of Russia. — Russia in Europe comprises at pres- 
ent more than half the territory of that entire continent. Yet it has but a 
small share of seaboard, and of this a large part is frozen in winter. The 
surface of Russia is of a piece with the boundless plateaus of Northern and 
Central Asia. It has been defined as the " Europe of plains, in opposition 
to the Europe of mountains." The mountains of Russia are chiefly on its 
boundaries. It is a country subject to extremes of heat and cold. From the 
scarcity of stone, all buildings were formerly of wood, and hence its towns 
were all combustible. The rivers of Russia have been of immense impor- 
tance in its history. " The whole history of this country is the history of its 



POLAND AND RUSSIA. 349 

three great rivers, and is divided into three periods, — that of the Dnieper 
with Kiev, that of the Volga with Moscow, and that of the Neva with Nov- 
gorod m. the eighth century, and St. Peter sbtirg'm the eighteenth." 

Russians and Poles. — The Russian Slaves in the ninth century occu- 
pied but a small part of what is now Russia. There was probably little 
difference then between them and the Poles ; but the one people were 
molded by the Greek Church and Greek civilization, the other by the Latin 
Church and by the collective influences of Western Europe. 

Russian History. — The Northmen under Rurik had founded 
their dominion in Russia. Novgorod was their center. Thence 
they pushed their conquests to the south. Their descendants 
made Kiev, on the Dnieper, their capital. In Russia, as else- 
where, the Scandinavians quickly blended with their native sub- 
jects. Under Vladimir I. (980-1015), who was converted to 
Greek Christianity, with his people, and laroslaf I. (1019-1051), 
they attained to considerable power ; but the custom of the sove- 
reigns to divide their dominions among their sons, broke up their 
territory into a multitude of petty principaUties. The result was 
a monotonous series of fierce contests, without any substantial re- 
sult. In the midst of the bloody and profitless civil wars occurred 
the great invasion of the Mongols, who destroyed the principality 
of Kiev, and made that of Vladimir tributary. For two centuries 
the Russians continued under the yoke of the " Golden Horde," 
which the Mongols established on the Volga. They were obliged 
to pay tribute, and the Russian princes at their accession had to 
swear fealty to the khan on the banks of the river Amoor. At 
the time of the Mongol conquest, Novgorod was the center of 
Russian dominion. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, 
Moscow became a new center of Russian power. From Moscow 
comes the name Muscovy. " Muscovy was to Russia what France 
in the older sense was to the whole land which came to bear that 
name." In the fourteenth century, while Lithuania and Poland 
were absorbing by conquest the territories of earlier or Western 
Russia, the Duchy oi Moscow was building up a new Russia in the 
East, out of which grew the Russia of to-day. Ivan /., regarded 
as the founder of the Russian monarchy, made Moscow his capi- 
tal in 1328. Most of the other princes were subject to him. De- 
metrius {ox Dimtri) I. gained tv/o great victories over the Mongol 
horde (1378 and 1380) ; but in 1382 they burned Moscow, and 
slew twenty-four thousand of its inhabitants. It was not until the 
reign of Ivan III, Ivan the Great (1462-1505), that Novgorod 
submitted to Moscow, and Russia was wholly delivered from the 
control and influence of the Mongols. 



350 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 



VI. HUNGARY. 

The Arpad Dynasty. — The chiefs of the Turanian Magyars, 
about 889, elected Arpad as successor of the leader under whom 
they had crossed the Carpathian Mountains. They overran Hungary 
and Transylvania, and terrified Europe by their invasions (p. 249). 
After their defeats by the emperors Henry I. and Otto the Great 
(p. 261), they confined themselves to their own country. The 
first king, Stephen, — St. Stephen, — wa,s crowned, with the consent 
of Pope Sylvester II., in the year looo. He divided the land into 
counties, organized the Church, and founded convents and schools. 
He conferred on the bishops high offices. He established a na- 
tional council, composed of the lords temporal and spiritual, and 
of the knights, out of which sprung the diets. Ladislaus I. con- 
quered Croatia (1089), and a part of the "Red Russian" land 
of Galicia (1093). Coloman, "the Learned," a brave and able 
man, annexed Dalmatia, which he wrested from the Venetians 
(1102). In the reign of Andrew II. (1205-1235), the "Golden 
Bull " was extorted by the nobles, which conferred on them ex- 
traordinary rights and privileges, including exemption from arrest 
prior to trial and conviction, and the control of the diet over ap- 
pointments to office. It even authorized armed resistance on their 
part to tyrannical measures of the king, — a right that was not 
abrogated until 1687. Hungary was devastated by the great Tar- 
tar invasion (1241-42) (p. 283). The kings of Hungary sup- 
ported the cause of Rudolph of Austria against Ottocar of Bohemia 

(P- 332). 

Invasions of the Turks. — The last king of the Arpad dynasty 
died in 1301. There was a division of parties in the choice of 
a successor. Pope Boniface VIII. and the clergy supported the 
claims of Count Charles Robert of Anjoii, who was related to the 
former reigning family. Under the son of Charles Robert, Louis, 
who also succeeded Casimir III. as king of Poland (1370), Hun- 
gary became a very powerful state. Galicia was regained, Mol 
davia and Bulgaria were conquered. After the death of Louis, 
his daughter y]/ar/rt: reigned from 1386 zovi]o\x\\}i^' \n\\\\ Sigismund, 
afterwards emperor, and king of Bohemia. He established his 
supremacy over Bosnia. From this time the invasions of the 
Turks begin. There had been a party in favor of raising to the 
throne Vladislaus, king of Poland ; and after the death of Sigis- 
mund's successor, Albert II. of Austria (1437), and the death of 
the queen, he gained the crown (1442). He was slain at Varna, 
in the great battle in which the Hungarians were vanquished by 
the Turks (1444). John Htmyady,w\\o}\di.d several times defeat- 
ed the Turks, and who escaped on the field of Varna, was made for 
the time " governor ; " but on the release of the son of Albert, 



THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 351 

Ladislaus Posthumus, who had been kept from the throne by the 
Emperor Frederick III., he was recognized as king (1452). Hun- 
yady was made general-in-chief. Frederick had also retained in 
his hands the crown, which had been intrusted to his care, and 
which Hungarians have always regarded with extreme veneration. 
A httle later, great advantages were gained over the Turks, to be 
lost again in the sixteenth century. 

VII. THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 

Osman: Murad I. — Towards the end of the thirteenth cen- 
tury, the Osman (or Ottoman) Turks, warlike nomad hordes, in 
order to escape from the Mongols, moved from the region east of 
the Caspian Sea, and conquered in Asia Minor the remnant of the 
kingdom of the Seljukians (p. 270). Impelled by fanaticism and 
the desire of \iOOty, Ottoma7i\oxOsinan),\h&\x leader, advanced into 
Bithynia, and took Pruse, or Broussa, one of the most important 
cities of Asia Minor. The Greeks, with their Catalonian auxiliaries, 
were not able to dislodge him from his new possession. The 
Byzantine court was disabled from making an energetic effort for 
this end, by the partisan rancor, and mingled lethargy and cruelty, 
which characterized the old age of the Greek Empire. Nicomedia, 
Nic(za, and Ilium were conquered by the Sultan (or Padishah). 
Murad I. ( 1 361-1389) founded the corps oi janizaries, composed 
of select Christian youth chosen from the captives for their beauty 
■ and vigor. These became the most effective soldiers, — some- 
times dangerous, however, to the sultans themselves. Adrianople 
was taken by Murad, and made the seat of his authority. The 
Christian principalities of Thrace, and the ancient but depopulated 
cities founded by the Greeks and Romans, were overrun. The 
Servians and Bulgarians made a stand against the fierce Ottoman 
warriors, but were beaten in the battle of Kosovo, where Murad 
was slain. 

Bajazet — Bajazet, the son and successor of Murad, outdid his 
predecessor in his martial prowess. He conquered Macedonia 
and Thessaly, and Greece to the southern end of Peloponnesus. 
The Emperor Sigismund and John of Burgundy, with one hundred 
thousand men, were utterly defeated in the sanguinary battle of 
Nicopolis (1396). &^/j-;;/////(/ escaped by sea; the French counts 
and knights had to be redeemed from captivity with a large ran- 
som ; and ten thousand prisoners of lower rank were slaughtered by 
Bajazet. Bosnia was now in the hands of the victor. Constanti- 
nople had to pay tribute, and seemed hkely to become his prey, 
when a temporary respite was obtained for it by the coming of a 
host even more powerful than that of Bajazet. 

Mongolian Invasion. — Timur, or Tamerlane, a descendant of 
Genghis Khan (p. 283), revived the fallen Tartar kingdom. At the 



352 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

head of his wandering Tarta?'s, which grew into an army, he left 
Samarcand, where he had caused himself to be proclaimed sove- 
reign, and, in a rapid career of conquest, made himself master of 
the countries from the Wall of China to the Mediterranean, and 
from the boundaries of Egypt to Moscow. Everywhere his path 
was marked with blood and with the ruins of the places which he 
destroyed. At Ispahan, in Persia, seventy thousand persons were 
killed. At Delhi, one hundred thousand captives were slain, that 
his relative, the "Great Mogul," might reign in security. It was 
his delight to pile up at the gates of cities pyramids of twenty or 
thirty thousand heads. Later (1401), at Bagdad, he erected such 
a pyramid of ninety thousand heads. He gained a great victory 
over the " Golden Horde " in Russia (p. 283), conquered the un- 
subdued parts of Persia, entered Bagdad, Bassorah, and Mosul, 
vanquished the khan of Kaptchak, and penetrated Russia in his 
devastating progress, as far as Moscow (1396). Then followed 
the conquest of Hindustan. 

Tamerlane and Bajazet. — The two powerful monarchs, Tamer- 
lane and Bajazet, now measured their strength in combat with one 
another. Trembling ambassadors of the Greek emperor, and of 
certain Seljukian princes, had waited on Tamerlane in Gengia at 
the foot of the Caucasus. On the i6th of June, 1402, the two 
armies — four hundred thousand Turks, and eight hundred thou- 
sand Mongols, if one may credit the reports — met at Ajicyra. 
The Ottomans were defeated, axid' Bajazet was taken prisoner. 
Led into the presence of Tamerlane, he found the Mongol quietly 
playing chess with his son. Asia Minor submitted to the con- 
queror, who penetrated as far as Smyrna. An old man, he was 
looking towards China as another field for invasion, when he died 
(1405). Bajazet died soon after his defeat. 

Turkish Conquests : the Greeks and Latins. — The grandson 
of Bajazet, Murad 11. (1421-1451), took up anew his projects of 
conquest. The empire of Tamerlane quickly fell to pieces. His 
course had been like that of a hurricane, terrible in its work of 
destruction, but soon at an end. The Byzantine dominion was 
soon confined to Constantinople and small districts adjacent. On 
all sides the Ottoman power was supreme. The Greek emperor, 
John VII. {PalcEologus), now endeavored, in imitation of previous 
attempts, to bring about a union of the Greek and Latin churches, 
and thus remove a principal obstacle to the obtaining of military 
help from the West. He went to Italy, attended by the patriarch 
and many bishops. After long debates and conferences on the 
abstruse points of doctrinal difference, a verbal agreement was 
reached between the two parties (1439). But the result was re- 
ceived with so much disfavor and indignation in Constantinople, 
that the effort to bring the sundered churches together came to 



FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 353 

naught. The Pope, however, stirred up the Christian princes to 
engage in war against the Turk. The defeat of Vladislav, king 
of Hungary, and oi Hiinyady, at Varna (1444), caused by the rash 
onset of the king upon the janizaries, was succeeded by another 
Turkish victory at Kosovo, four years later (p. 350). 

Fall of Constantinople. — Murad II. was succeeded by his 
ambitious and unmerciful son, Mohammed II. (1451-1481), who 
determined that Constantinople should be his capital. The city 
had seven thousand defenders, comprising two thousand Genoese 
and Venetians, who were commanded by an able man, the Geno- 
ese Justiniani. The Emperor Constantine XII. worshiped ac- 
cording to the Roman rites ; while his court observed the Greek 
forms, and spurned a union with the hated Latin Christians, whose 
help the emperor was to the end anxious to obtain. The city was 
stoutly defended for fifty-three days ; and when it could be held 
no longer against the furious assault of the Turks, the gallant Con- 
stafitine, casting aside his golden armor, fell, bravely fighting with 
the defenders on the ramparts (May 29, 1453). Constantinople 
became the capital of the Turks. The crescent supplanted the 
cross, and the Church of .5V. Sophia was turned into a mosque. 

Turkish Government. — The Sultan, or padischah, among the 
Turks is absolute master, and proprietor of the soil. There is no 
order of nobles, and there are no higher classes except the priests 
■ {imams') and the religious orders {dervishes). In the seraglio of 
the Sultan, with its palaces and gardens, the harem is separated 
from the other apartments. The grand vizier presides over the 
council of ministers {divan). The provinces are governed by 
pashas with large powers. Beneath them is a gradation of inferior 
rulers in the subdivisions of the provinces. The mufti with his 
subordinate associates is a high authority on questions of religion 
and law. 

Turkish Literature. — The literature of the Ottoman Turks is in 
merit below the literature of other Mohammedan peoples. It 
lacks originality, being based on Persian and partly on A>-abic 
models. 

Changes in the Middle Ages. — We have seen great changes 
gradually taking place in the Middle Ages. One is the centralizing 
of political authority by the subjection of the local rulers, or lords, 
to the will of the king. Another is the enfranchisement of the serfs, 
and the growing power and self-respect of a middle class. The 
invention of gunpowder took away the superiority of the mail-clad 
and mounted warrior. The peasant on the battle-field was a match 
for the knight. 

Clergy and Laity. — There was a change from the time when 
the cle7'gy were the sole possessors of knowledge, and the exclusive 



354 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

guides of opinion. In the lay part of society, there was an awak- 
ing of intellectual activity and a spirit of self-assertion. 

A brief sketch of important ecclesiastical changes, some of which 
have been adverted to, will be here in place. 

Popes in the Thirteenth Century. — From Gregory VII. to 
Boniface VIII. , or from near the end of the eleventh to the begin- 
ning of the fourteenth century, the highest authority was claimed 
and exercised by the popes. Frederick Barbarossa., the greatest 
of the German emperors, held the stirrup of Hadrian IV., and 
humbled himself before Alexander III. Innocent III. compared 
the authority of popes, in contrast with that of kings, to the sun in 
relation to the moon. He excommunicated Philip Augustus of 
YxdiXiCQ, John of England, and other monarchs. He claimed the 
right to refuse to crown the emperor if he should judge him not 
worthy of the imperial office. The papacy continued to exert 
these lofty prerogatives until Boniface VIII. He asserted that 
" the two swords," the symbols of both secular and spiritual rule, 
were given to St. Peter and to his successors : the temporal au- 
thority must therefore be subject to the spiritual. The body of 
canon law was framed in accordance with these views. It em- 
braced the right of the Pope to depose kings and princes. To the 
sovereign pontiff was accorded the right to dispense from Church 
laws. With the growth of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the differ- 
ent countries, the Pope, as the supreme tribunal in all matters 
affecting the clergy and covered by the canon law, gained a vast 
increase of judicial prerogatives. 

The Babylonian Exile : the Great Schism. — During the resi- 
dence of the popes at Avignon, there was great complaint on ac- 
count of the dependence of the papacy on France, as well as on 
account of the heavy taxes levied for the support of the pon- 
tifical court, and of the immorality which at times prevailed in it. 
Gregory XI., to the joy of all good men, returned to Rome ( 1376) . 
But at his death, two years later, a majority of the cardinals elected 
an Italian, Urban VI., in his place. The adherents of the French 
party made a protest, and chose the Cardinal of Geneva, under the 
name of Clement VII. England, Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, 
Holland, and almost all Italy, acknowledged Urban. France, 
Spain, Scotland, Savoy, and Lorraine obeyed Clement. This great 
schism of the West created sorrow and alarm among well-disposed 
Christian people. It tended strongly to diminish the reverence 
felt for the papal office, and to weaken its influence. 

The Reforming Councils. — The first important effort to termi- 
nate the division was made by the University of Paris. Its rector, 
Nicolas de Clemangis, was prominent in the movement, Gej-son 
and other eminent scholars and ecclesiastics took part in it. Three 
great councils were held; the first a*-. Pisa (1409), the second at 



CHINA. 355 

Constance (1414), and the third at Basle (1431). At these 
assembhes, the French theologians proceeded upon the " GaUican 
theory" of the constitution of the Church, according to which 
supreme authority was held to reside in a general council, — not 
in the Pope, but in the collective episcopate. At the Council of 
Co7istance, where it is a significant fact that the votes were taken 
by nations, there were gathered not only a throng of prelates and 
inferior clergy, but also the Emperor Sigismund, and a multitude 
of princes, nobles, and spectators of every rank. "The whole 
world," it was said, " was there." Three popes, each of whom 
claimed to be legitimate, were deposed ; and under the auspices 
of the council, which affirmed its own sovereign authority, another 
pope, Martin V., was elected in the room of them. The results 
of the two councils of Pisa and Constance, as regards the reforma- 
tion of the Church "in head and members," disappointed the hopes 
of those who were disaffected with the existing state of things. 
The Council oi Basle exhibited the same spirit as that of Constance, 
and passed various measures in the interest of national churches, 
for the restriction of papal prerogatives, and for practical reforms. 
The council, however, broke into two parts ; and the hopes con- 
nected with it were likewise, to a great extent, frustrated. In 1438 
the French synod of Bourges issued " the Pragmatic Sanction," 
containing a strong assertion of the rights and immunities of national 
churches, — a document which gave occasion to much controversy 
down to its repeal under King Francis I. 

Had it been practicable for good men in ^o. fifteenth century to 
unite in wholesome measures for promoting the purity and unity 
of the Church, the religious revolutions of the sixteenth might have 
been postponed, if not avoided. 



CHAPTER in. 
THE COUM-TRIES OF EASTERN ASIA. 
I. CHINA. 

The T'ang D5'-nasty (618-907). — The confusion in China, after 
the establishment of the three kingdoms, was brought to an end 
by the Sui dynasty, which, however, was of short duration. Be- 
tween the Hans and the new epoch beginning with the Twangs, 
diplomatic intercourse was begun with Japan; Christianity was 
introduced by the Nestorians ; a new impulse was given to the 
spread of Buddhism ; the first traces of the art of printing are 
found ; and the Yang-tse and the Yellow Rivers were connected 
by a canal. 



356 MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 

Events in This Period. — Under the T'angs, the empire was 
united, peaceful, and prosperous. One of the most remarkable 
occurrences was the usurpation (649) and successful reign of a 
woman, the Empress Wu. Her policy was wise, and her generals 
were victorious. The Emperor Hiuen Tsiing had a long reign 
(713-756), and was an ardent patron of hterature, but in his later 
years fell into immoral ways, as was seen in the character of the 
poems written under his patronage. Under this dynasty, there were 
productions in poetry of an excellence never surpassed in China. 
Buddhism, although resisted by the Confucianists and Taouists, 
gained ground. A bone of Buddha was brought into China with 
great pomp and ceremony. Early in the reign of the T'angs, Mo- 
hammedanism first appeared in China. In the transition period 
before the accession of the next dynasty (900-960), the art of 
printing came more into use. I'he practice of cramping women's 
feet is said by some to have originated at this time. 

The Sung Dynasty (960-1280). — In the early part of this era, 
China was prosperous. But the Tartars began their invasions ; and 
it was finally agreed that one of their tribes, which had helped to 
drive out another, should retain its conquests in the North. These 
Tartar conquerors, the Kins, were invaded by the Mongol Tartars 
under Genghis Khan (1213). After a long struggle, both the 
Kins and the Sungs were conquered by the Mongols, and the em- 
pire of Kiblai Khan (i 259-1 294), the ruler of nearly all Asia 
except Hindustan and Arabia, was established. Under the Sungs, 
a system of military drill for all the citizens was ordained. Liter- 
ature flourished ; Buddhism and Taouism concluded to live in 
peace with one another ; and the system of competitive examina- 
tions and literary degrees was more fully developed. After the 
complete conquest of China, the dominion of Kublai Khan lasted 
for about a century. The celebrated Venetian traveler, Marco 
Polo, visited his court. In this period, mathematics was more 
studied, and romances were first written. Three out of the " Four 
Wonderful Books," which are leading novels, were then composed. 
The Grand Canal was finished by Kublai Khan, and thus Peking 
was connected with Southern China. His great naval expedition 
against Japan failed. 

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1650). — Hiing-wu, the son of a Chi- 
nese laborer, shook off the Mongol yoke, and founded a new 
dynasty with its capital at Nanking; whence it was afterwards 
transferred by the third emperor, Yung-lo (1403-1425), to Peking. 
He conquered and annexed Cochin China and Tonquin, and even 
portions of Tartary. The Tartars continued their attack ; and in 
1450 Ching-tung, the emperor, was taken prisoner, and held until 
he was released in consequence of a Chinese victory. 



JAPAN AND INDIA. 357 

II. JAPAN. 

Changes in Government. — In the seventh century A.D., there 
began changes in Japan which resulted in a dual government, and 
eventually in a feudal system which continued until recent times. 
The Mikados retired from personal contact with their subjects ; and 
the power by degrees fell into the hands of the families related 
to the Mikado, and combined into clans. Military control was 
exercised by the generals {Shoguns), and towards the end of the 
eighth century devolved on the two rival clans of Gen and Hei, or 
Taira and Mina^noto. About the same time (770-780) the agri- 
cultural class became distinct from the military, and were com- 
pelled to labor hard for their support. One family, the Fujiwara, 
by degrees absorbed the civil offices. They gradually sank into 
luxury. From the middle to the end of the twelfth century, there 
was terrible civil war between the Taira clan and the Minamoto 
clan, in which the former were destroyed. The military power 
passed from one family to another ; but a main fact is that the 
Shoguns acquired such a control as the " mayors of the palace " 
had possessed among the Franks. The Mikados lost all real 
power, and the Shoguns or Tycoons had the actual government in 
their hands. In recent times (1868) a revolution occurred which 
restored to the Mikado the power which had belonged to him in 
the ancient times, before the changes just related took place. 

Civil War: Feudalism. — The final struggle of the two clans, 
the Hei or Taira, and the Gen or Minamoto, was in the naval 
battle of Dannoura, in 1185, which was followed by the extermi- 
nation of the Taira. Yoritomo, the victor, was known as the Sho- 
gun after 1192. The supremacy of his clan gave way in 12 19 to 
that of their adherents, the Hojo family, who ruled the Shogun 
and the emperor both. The invasion of the Mongol Tartars failed, 
their great fleet being destroyed by a typhoon (1281). The Hojo 
rule terminated, after a period of anarchy and civil war, in 1333. 
The " war of the chrysanthemums " — so called from the imperial 
emblem, the chrysanthemum — was between two rival Mikados, 
one in the North, and the other in the South (1336-1392). There 
ensued a period of confusion and internal war, lasting for nearly 
two centuries. Gradually there was developed a system of feudal- 
ism, in which the daimios, or lords of larger or smaller principalities, 
owned a dependence, either close or more loose, on the Shogun, 
But feudalism was not fully established until the days of the Toku- 
gania dynasty, early in the seventeenth century. 

III. INDIA. 

Mohammedan States. — During the Middle Ages, India was 
invaded by a succession of Mohammedan conquerors. The first 



358 MEDIyEVAL HISTORY. 

invasions were in the seventh and the early part of the eighth 
centuries. A temporary lodgment was effected in the province of 
Sind, on the north-west, in 711; but the Moslems were driven out 
by the Hindus in 750. The next invader was the Afghan sultan, 
Mahmiid of Ghazim, a Turk, who is said to have led his armies 
seventeen times into India. From his time the Punjab, except 
for a brief interval, has been a Mohammedan province. The last 
of his line of rulers, Bahram, was conquered by the Afghan 
AUah-ud-din of Ghor (1152). Bahram's son fled to Lahore, but 
the Ghoride dynasty soon absorbed his dominion. One of the 
Ghoride rulers, Mohammed Ghori, the Shahab-ud-din of the 
Mohammedan writers, spread his dominion so that it reached from 
the Indus to the Brahmaputra. After his death, Kuiab-ud-din, 
who had been a Turkish slave, became the founder of the " slave" 
dynasty (i 206-1 290), whose capital was Delhi. AUah-ud-din, 
by whom he was assassinated (1294), had a brilliant reign of 
twenty years, and conquered Deccan and Guzerat. Of the 
Togliik dynasty, which gained the throne in 132 1, Mohammed 
Togluk (1325-135 1 ) is said to have had the "reputation of one 
of the most accomplished princes and most furious tyrants that ever 
adorned or disgraced human nature." Desiring to remove the 
seat of empire to the Deccan, he compelled the inhabitants of 
Delhi to leave their old home, and to make the journey of seven 
hundred miles. 

Tamerlane. — Revolts in India made the triumph of Timour 
(Tamerlane) easy (1398). The Mongol leader sacked Delhi, 
and made a full display of his unrivaled ferocity. A half century 
of anarchy followed this invasion. 

Literature. — On Mediseval History: The General Subject. (See list of works on Uni- 
versal History, p. i6.) Gyszovl'^ Decline and Fall, exz; " The Students' Gibbon " (Smith, 
I vol.); Freeman, Getieral Sketch of European History, and Historical Geography of 
Europe; 'Dxs^xn , Histoire du Moyen Age, etc. (nth edition, 18S2) ; Hallam. I'lff nf the 
State of Europe during the Middle Ages ; Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire Ginerale 
(vols, i.-iii.) ; Cunningham, Western Civilization (vol. ii) ; Lavisse, Political History 0/ 
Europe; Dunham, History of Europe during the Middle Ages (4 vols); Bryce, The 
Holy Roman Empire ; Putz and Arnold, Medicsval History ; E. A. Freeman, Historical 
Essays (series i and 3). 

Works on Church History. The Church Histories of Gieseler, Neander; Milman, 
History of Latin Christianity ; Alzog [a Roman C^lhoMc], Maiizcal, etc. (3 vols. 1874- 
78); Hardwick (vol. i.. Middle Ages); Students' History of the Church; Stanley's 
Eastern Church; Fisher, History of the Christian Church. 

On Portions of the Medisevai Period. Froissart, Chronicles, etc.; Curteis, History of 
the Roman Empire [395-800]; R. W. Church, The Beginning of the Middle Ages; A. 
Thierry, Histoire d'Attila, etc., St. Jerome, etc., St. Jean Chrysostome, etc.; Church, 
Life of Ansehn ; MoRisoN, Life and Times of St. Bernard ; Gfrorer, Pabst Gregorius 
VH. u. sein Zeitalter (1859) ; Bury, The Later Roman Empire (2 vols.) ; Oman, The 
Dark Ages (476-918); Tout, The Empire and the Papacy (918-1272); Emerton, 
MeditEval Europe (800-1300); Pears, The Fall of Constantinople; Sergeant, The Frattks; 
Mullinger, The Schools of Charles the Great, and the Restoration of Education in the 
qthCentury (1877); Montalembert, The Monks of the West (7 voh.) : Sartorius, Gesch. 
des hanseatischen Bundes (3 vols.); Mombert, Charlemagne ; Sabatier, Life of Francis 
of Assisi ; V.^isse, Leben Anselm ; West, A Icuin ; Kodgkhi, Theodoric the Goth. 

General Character of the Period. Robertson, A View of the Progress of Society in 
Europe from the Subversion of the Roman Einpire, etc. (Introduction to the Histoiy of 
Charles V.) ; Kingsley, C, The Roman and the Teuton : a Series of Lectures, etc.; Sul- 
livan, Historical Caiises and Effects; from the Fall of the Roman Empire A.D. 476 to 



WORKS ON THE MIDDLE AGES. 359 

1517; Ozanam, A. F., History of Civilization in the Fifth Century; Laurent, Etudes, 
etc. (vol. vii.); Sir James Sle.\>hen, Ecclesiastical Essays; Adams, Civilization duritig the 
Middle Ages. Scott's novels, — Ivanhoe, The Talisman, Anne of Geierstein : they are 
historically much less correct pictures than his romances which relate to Scotland. 

Particular Aspects of the Period. Savigny, Gesch. d. romischen Rechts im Mittelalter 
(7 vols.); Sismondi, Literature in the South of Europe ; Hallam, Introduction to the 
Study of Literattire, etc. ; Gefifchen, Church and State (2 vols.) ; GuizoT, History of the 
Origin of Representative Governniefit in Europe; Hecker, Epidemics of the Middle 
Ages ; J. E. Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices iti Englattd [1259- 
1793] (4 vols., 1866) ; Amos, Roman Civil Law ; Jenks, Law and Politics in the Middle 
Ages ; Gross, The Guild Merchant ; Oman, Art of VVar ; Viollet-le-Duc, Annals of 
a Fortress; H. C. Lea, History of Sacerdotal Celibacy , History of the Inquisition (3 vols.), 
and Siipersiition and Force ; Lacroix, Works on the Middle Ages, richly illustrated (5 vols., 
London, i88o); Gautier, Chivalry ; Cornish, Chivalry ; Bulfinch, Age of Chivalry, or 
Legends of King Arthur; Legends of Charlemagne, or Romattce of the Middle Ages 
(2 vols.); Cox AND Jones, Popular Romances of the Middle Ages; Nasse, O71 the Agri- 
cultural Community of the Middle Ages (1871) ; Roth, Gesch. d. Benefcialwesens, etc. ; 
Secretan, Essai sur la Feodalite ; Smith, T., English Guilds (1870) ; Wilda, Das Gilden- 
wesen im Mittelalter (1831); Seignobos, The Feudal Regime. 

Works on the Crusades. G. W. Cox, The Crusades (1878); also, art. Crusades in the 
Encycl. Brit.; Michaud, History of the Crusades (3 vols.l; Von Sybel, The History 
and Literature of the Crusades ; Mills, A History of the Crusades, etc. (2 vols.); 
Heeren, in Verinischte historische ScJiriften (3 vols.) ; Procter's History of the Crusades; 
Gray's Children s Crusade ; Archer and Kingsford, The Crusades. 

For works on Mohammedanism and the Arabic kingdom, see p. 232. 

The works here mentioned respecting the several countries either relate to their entire his- 
tory, or to their history prior to the close of the Middle Ages. 

L England and Scotland. — Green's History of the English People (4 vols.), and 
Short History of England (^1 vol.); the " Students' Hume"; the historiesof Bright, Knight, 
LiNGARD, Hume, GuizOT, Traill, Social England (6 vols., two editions) ; Gairdner, Out- 
line, etc.; Turner's ///i/iJry of the Anglo-Saxons ; Palgrave's Rise and Progress of the 
English Commonwealth; VaXgrnYes History of N'or/nandy and of England ; Freeman's 
History of the Norman Conquest (6 vols.), anA History of IVilliam Rufus ; Green, The 
Making of England, and The Conquest of England; 'Ramsay , Fou7idatio7is of England, 
Angevin Etnpire, Lancaster a?id York ; Stubbs, The Early Plaiitage^iets ; Longman's 
History of Edward III.; Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce ; 
Cheyney, hidustrial and Social History of England ; Seebohm, English Village Com- 
munity ; Life of Wickliffe, by Lechler, by Loserth, by Wilson, by Trevelyan. 

Kemble's The Saxons in England ; Stubbs's Constitutiotial History of England in its 
Origin and Development (-^ vols.); Stubbs's Select Charters; Creasy's Rise and Prog- 
ress of the English Constit^ition ; Thompson's Essay on Alagna Charia ; Bisset, His- 
tory of the Struggle for Parliameritary Government in England (1877); Taswell- 
Langmead's English Constitutiotal History, etc. ; Freeman's Growth of the English 
Cotistitution, etc. ; Bagehot, The English Constitjition ; Macy, The English Constitution. 

Scotland. — P. H. Brown, History of Scotland (2 vols.); Miss Macarthur, History 
of Scotland (i vol.) ; E. M. Robertson, Scotland under her Early Kings (2 vols.). 

Ireland. — C. G. Walpole, The Kingdom of Irelatid; Morris, Ireland. 

n. France. — General histories by Crowe (5 vols.); Duruy (2 vols.); Guizot (to 1789, 
5 vols. ; 1789-1848, 3 vols.); and OtMines of the History of France (ivol.); Bonnechose 
(to 1848); Jervis (Hassall edition); Martin (17 vols.); Kitchin, Lacombe, Michelet 
(17 vols.); \,av\%z&, Histoire de France ; Adams, Growth of the French Nation ; Grant, 
The French Monnrchy; Wallon's St. Louis et son Temps (2 vols.); Sismondi, The French 
under the Carlovingians (i vol.), France under the Feudal System (i vol.) ; Barante's 
Histoire des Dues de Boicrgogne de la Maison de Valois, 1364-1477; Wallon's Jeanne 
d'Arc (2 vols.); Lowell's Joan of Arc; Jameson's Life and Times of Du Guesclin. 

Coulanges' Histoire des Institutions politiques de V Ancienne France (1877) ; Viollet, 
Institutions politiques de la France (3 vols.) ; Luchaire, Mamiel des Institutions Fran- 
qaises ; Esmein, Histoire du Droit Franqais ; Guizot's History of Civilization in France 
(3 vols.), and Essai sur I' Histoire de France; Thierry's The Forjiiation and Progress 
of the Third Estate in France; Sir James Stephens's Lectures on the History of France. 

HL Germany. — Henderson, yi Short History of Germany (1 vols.); Histories by C. T. 
Lewis (founded on D. Miiller), Kohlrausch; Kaufman, Deutsche Geschichte ; Lamprecht, 
Deutsche Geschichte (6 vols.); Schroder, Lehrbuch der d. Rechtsgeschichte ; Richter, 
Annate }i. 

Geisebrecht's Geschichte d. deutschen Kaiserzeit (4 vols.) ; Von Raumer's Geschichte 
der Hohenstaufen und ihrer Zeit (6 vols.). 

Coxe's History of the House of Atistria ; Krones's Handbuch d. Geschichte Oster- 
reichs (3 vols.l; Marlath's Geschichte Osterreichs. 

Arnold, Ansiedelungicn und lVatideru>igen deutscher St'dm7ne {\Z-;$)\ 3.\so, Deutsche 
Urzeit (1879); Ozanam, Les Germains avant le Chrisiianisme (1872); Sohm, Die 
altdeutsche Reichs- und Gerichtsverfassjing; Maurer's histories of German local institu- 
tions I the Marks, the Villages, the Cities); Waitz, Dejttsche Verfassungsgeschichte (8 
vols.) , Wirlh, Die Geschichte der Deutschen (1853) : Sugenheim, Geschichte d. deutschen 
Volkes 2ind seiner Kultur, etc. 



36o 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 



IV. \t:p.i.\. —CaniM, Hisiozre des lialiens (12 vols., 1859); Hunt's History of Italy 
(in Freeman's Series); Butt's History of Italy (2 vols); Leo's Geschichte von Italien (5 
vols.); SiSMONDi's Histotre des Republiques Italiennes du Moyen Age (10 vols.); Spal- 
ding's Italy and the Italians ; Boscoe and Morell, Cojnpendium of Italian History. 

Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders (2 vols.) ; Testa, History of the War of Frederic 
I. against the Cojumunes of Lombardy ; Heyd, Geschichte des Levantehandels iju Mit- 
telalter (2 vols.) ; C. Hegel. Geschichte der St'ddteverfassung von Italien, etc. 

Daru, Histoire de la Republigue de Fenise (9 vols.); Brown, Venice : an Historical 
Sketch; 'Ra.n\^.e.,Zur Venitianer Geschichte ; Mach\a.\e\\i's, History of Florence ; Napier's 
Florentine History (6 vols. ) ; Perrens, Histoire de Florence (4 vols.) ; Reumont's Lorenzo 
the Magnificent (2 vols.); Roscoe's Lzfe of Lorenzo de' Medici; Trollope's History of 
Florence; Campbell's Life of Petrarch ; Gregorovius' History of the City of Rome in 
the Middle Ages (8 v., from fifth to sixteenth century.); Gallenga, History of Piedmont (3 
vols.); Amari, History of the War of the Sicilian Vespers (3 vols.); Malleson, Studies 
from Genoese History (i vol.); Oliphant, Makers of Florence, etc.; Svmonds, Sketches 
and Sticdies in Southern Europe ; Thxvi-B., Florence and Venice, and Rome and Naples ; 
Freeman, Historical and Architectural Studies (chiefly Italian, i vol.K 

V. Russia. — Bell's History of Russia (3 vols.) ; Howorth's History of the Mongols ; 
Karamsin, Histoire de V Empire de Russie (11 vols.); Histories of Russia, by Kelly, 
Lamartine, Levesque ; Rambaud, History of Ri{ssia (2 vols., 1879); Ralston, Early 
Rt(ssian History. 

VI. Poland. — Histories of Poland, by Dunham (i2mo), Fletcher, Joachim (2 vols.), 
Ropell and Caro. 

VII. Spain and Portugal. — Lembke und Schafer, Geschichte von Spanien (3 vols.); 
Mariana, The General History of Spain ; Dunham, History of Spain and Portugal; 
Crawford, Portugal, Old a7id New ; Burke, History of Spain (2 vols.); Stevens's Portu- 
gal ; Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature (3 vols.) ; Prescott's History of the Reign 
of Ferdinand and Isabella (introductory chapter). 

VIII. Switzerland. — History of Switzerland, in Lardner's Cyclopedia (1832); His- 
tories of Switzerland, by Morin (5 vols.) ; J. Miiller; Zschokke; Rochholz, Tell und Gessler 
in Sage und Geschichte (1877). 

IX. Scandinavia. — Dunham's History of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway (3 vols.) : 
Dahlmann's Geschichte von D'dnemark bis zur Reformation (with Norway and Iceland, 3 
vols.); Histories of Sweden, by Fryxell, Geijer and Carlson (5 vols.); Laing's History 
of Norway ; 'Ma.ia.^ts Northern Antiquities ; 'Mavrkk's History of Iceland ; Rink's 
Danish Greenland ; Binding's Scandinavia ; Wheaton's History of the Northmen; 
Worsaac's Danes and Northmen in Great Britain. 

X. Ottoman Turks. — Hammer-Purgstall's Geschichte des osmanischen Reiches 
(10 vols.) ; Creasv's History of the Ottoman Turks ; Freeman, The Ottoman Power in 
Europe (1877); Zinkeisen, Geschichte d. osmanisch. Reiches in Eicropa (7 vols.). 

XL China, Japan, and India. — (See lists on pp. 25, 32.) Dickson, Japan, etc. (vol. i., 
1869); Griflis, The Micado's Empire (1876). 

XII. Bibliographies. — In addition to KA^m^,Matmal ; Sonnenschein, The Best Books 
and A Reader's Guide ; Gross, Sources and Literature of English History (to 1485); 
Gardiner and ^i\i\\'mge:r, English History for Students ; Monod, Bibliographic de T His- 
toire de France ; Dahlmann-Waitz, Quellejikunde, der Deutschen Geschichte ; lists in 
Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire Generate. 



PART III. 
MODERN HISTORY. 



FROM THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE {1453) TO THE PRESENT 

TIME. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Modern history as a whole, in contrast with mediaeval, is marked 
by several plainly defined characteristics. They are such as ap- 
pear, however, in a less developed form, in the latter part of the 
Middle Ages. 

1 . In the recent centuries, there has been an increased tendency 
to consolidate smaller states into larger kingdoms. 

2. There has been a gradual secularizing of politics. Govern- 
ments have more and more cast off ecclesiastical control. 

3. As another side of this last movement, political unity in 
Europe has superseded ecclesiastical unity. The bond of union 
among nations, in the room of being membership in one great 
ecclesiastical commonwealth, became political : it came to be mem- 
bership in a loosely defined confederacy of nations, held together 
by treaties or by a tacit agreement in certain accepted rules of 
public law and outlines of policy. 

4. In this system, one main principle is the balance of power. 
This means that any one state may be prevented from enlarging 
its bounds to such an extent as to endanger its neighbors. We 
have seen the action of such a principle among the ancient states 
of Greece. Even in the Middle Ages, as regards Italy, the popes 
endeavored to keep up an equilibrium. They supported the Nor- 
man kingdom in Southern Italy, or the Lombard leagues in the 
North, as a counterpoise to the German emperors. In the six- 
teenth century, there were formed combinations to check the power 
of Charles V., king of Spain and emperor of Germany, and after- 
wards to restrain his successor on the Spanish throne, Philip If. 
In the seventeenth century, there were hke combinations against 
Louis XIV. of France, and, over a century later, against the first 
Napoleon. 

361 



362 MODERN HISTORY. 

5. The vast influence and control of Europe, by discovery, 
colonization, and commerce, in other quarters of the globe, is a 
striking feature of modern times. 

6. With the increase of commerce and the growing power of the 
middle classes, there has arisen the " industrial age." Interests 
connected with production and trade, and with the material side 
of civilization, have come into great prominence. 

7. Both the pursuits of men, and culture, have become far more 
diversified than was the case in the Middle Ages. 

8. The influence of Christianity in its ethical relations — as an 
instrument of pohtical and social reform, and a motive to philan- 
thropy — has become more active and conspicuous. 



Period I. 

FROM THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE TO THE REFOR- 
MATION 

{1453-1517): 

THE CONSOLIDATION OF MONARCHY: INVENTION AND DIS- 
COVERT : THE RENAISSANCE. 



Character of This Period. — In this period monarchy, especially 
in France, England, and Spain, acquires new strength and exten- 
sion. The period includes the reigns of three kings who did much 
to help forward this change : Louis XI. of France, Henry VII. of 
England, and Ferdinand the Catholic of Spain. The Italian wars 
begin with the French invasion of Italy : the rivalship of the king- 
dorns, and the struggles pertaining to the balance of power, are 
thus initiated. In this period fall new inventions which have 
altered the character of civilization, and great geographical dis- 
coveries, of which the discovery of the New World is the chief. 
It is the epoch, moreover, of the Renaissance, or the re-awakening 
of learning and art. There is a new era in culture. All these 
movements and changes foretoken greater revolutions in the age 
that was to follow. 



CHAPTER I. 

FRANCE: ENGLAND: SPAIN: GERMANY: ITALY: THE 
OTTOMAN TURKS: RUSSIA: THE INVASIONS OF ITALY. 

I. FRANCE. 

Charles VII. and the Nobles. — The result of the hundred- 
years' war was the acquisition of Aquitaine by the French crown. 
Aquitaine was incorporated in France. Southern Gaul and North- 
ern Gaul were now one. During the last years of Charles VII., his 
kingdom was comparatively peaceful. Its prosperity revived. A 
new sort of feudalism had sprung up in the room of the old no- 
blesse, whose power had been crushed. The new nobility was 
made up of relatives of the royal family, as the Dukes of Burgundy, 
Berry, Bourbon, and the house of Anjou. On the east of France 

363 



364 MODERN HISTORY. 

was Burgundy, which had expanded into a great European power. 
" The duchy of Burgundy, with the county of Charolois, and the 
counties of Flanders and Artois, were joined under a common 
ruler with endless imperial fiefs in the Low Countries, and with the 
imperial county of Burgundy." The Burgundian boundary was 
on the south of the Sonime, and Httle more than fifty miles north 
of Paris. The Burgundian dukes were constantly striving to bring 
it still nearer. On the east and south, the house of Anjou held 
the duchy of Bar and Provence, besides other possessions. On 
the south, too, was the province of Dauphiny ; and on the west the 
strong, half-independent duchy of Bretagne, or Brittany. Charles 
had a standing quarrel with his son Louis, who early showed his 
power to inspire dread, but gave no signs of the poUcy which he 
triumphantly pursued, after he became king, of putting down 
feudal insubordination. His young wife Margaret, daughter of 
James I. of Scotland, was twelve years old when he, a boy of thir- 
teen, was married to her. He aroused such terror and aversion 
in her mind that she died at twenty-one of a broken heart. Louis 
— to whom, much to his disgust, Dauphiny instead of Normandy 
was given to rule — abetted the great lords in their resistance to 
his father's authority; and, when threatened with coercion, fled 
to Brussels, to the court of his father's cousin, Philip of Burgundy, 
where he was kindly entertained. Charles VIL., who knew the 
traits of his son, said, " As for my cousin of Burgundy, he harbors 
a fox that will one day eat up his chickens." Even then the 
relations of Louis and Charles, Count of Charolois, the heir of 
Burgundy, were cool and unsympathetic. The king occupied 
Datiphiny, and in 1457 it was fully incorporated in France. The 
rulers of France and Burgundy, taken up with their own schemes 
of territorial gain, turned a deaf ear to the calls of Pope Piics II. 
for a crusade against the Turks. It has been said that most of the 
kings of the house of Valois were either bad or mad. The indo- 
lent and heartless Charles VII. would seem to have been both. 
In his last days he suspected that the Dauphin's plots were aided 
by persons about himself, and that his food was poisoned. He 
refused to eat, and died in 146 1. 

Character of Louis XI. — Louis XI. (1461-1483) showed him- 
self a master of " statecraft," or the cunning, diplomatic manage- 
ment which pursued its ends stealthily, held no engagements 
sacred, and was deterred by no scruples of conscience from what- 
ever perfidy was thought requisite to attain the objects in view. 
Louis was one of the earliest examples of the kingcraft which in the 
succeeding age was deemed a gift to be coveted by princes. It was 
an art in which the Italians were masters ; and its secrets were set 
forth, somewhat later than the time of Louis, in " The Prince " of 
Machiavelli, a work in which that eminent statesman and historian 



FRANCE. 365 

describes the means by which despots may entrap and crash their 
enemies. Whether he meant to afford aid to tyrants, or aid to 
their subjects through an exposure of the tricks of their rulers, the 
" Machiavelhan " spirit designates the pohcy of intrigue that pre- 
vailed all through the sixteenth century, and infected even some 
of the best of the public men of that age. Louis was mean- 
looking, shabby in his dress, with a cunning aspect ; in his whole 
deportment and character, in sharp contrast with the chivalrous 
princes, Philip and Chai-les of Burgundy. If he was vindictive, 
he was perhaps not more cruel than others ; but he was ungenial, 
regarding men as his tools. He took pleasure in the society 
of his provosts or hangmen, — Tristan V Hermite and Oiivier le 
Daim. He often ordered men to execution without so much as 
the form of a trial. There was in him a vein of superstition. He 
was punctilious in his devotions. He would not swear a false 
oath over the cross of St. Loup of Angers, because he thought that 
death would be the penalty. He did not quail before an enemy 
in battle ; yet such was his alarm at the prospect of death, that he 
collected about him relics and charms, magicians and hermits, to 
help him prolong his days. 

Strife with the Nobles. — The first years of Louis'' s reign 
(1461-1467) were passed in a struggle with the great lords whom 
he was determined to subdue. At the beginning his measures for 
this end were imprudent. They combined against him in the 
League of the Public Weal in 1464. Their force was so great that 
he stood in imminent peril. He counted on the support of Paris, 
and was trying to reach that city when the hostile armies encoun- 
tered one another at Montlh^ry (1465). It was an absurd battle, 
where at night both parties thought themselves beaten. The king 
secured his place of refuge. He deemed it prudent to make 
peace on the terms demanded by the Count of Charolois, and the 
other nobles. This treaty of Conflans (1465) he caused the Par- 
liament of Paris to refuse to ratify or register. He had trusted to 
his ability to regain what he might surrender. The strife between 
the Duke of Brittany and the king's brother Charles, now made 
Duke of Normandy, enabled Louis soon to recover Normandy. 

Charles the Bold, and Louis. — The death of Philip made his 
son, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Charles was in the 
prime of life, of a chivalrous temper, courteous and polished, fond 
of reading and music, as well as of knightly sports, and with his 
head full of dreams of ambition. With certain noble qualities, his 
pride was excessive, his temper not only hot but obstinate, and, as 
he grew older, he became more overbearing and cruel. He was 
the most powerful prince in Europe. The most of his lands were 
German. In the early part of his reign he pursued the same 
scheme as that which was at the root of the League of the Public 



366 MODERN HISTORY. 

Weal. He aimed to hem in Louis, and to build up his own 
power in the direction of France. He allied himself, in 1466, with 
the House of York, then uppermost in England. An English force 
was sent to Calais in 1467. Threatened by this coalition of adver- 
saries, Louis hastened to attack Brittany, and forced its duke to 
conclude a separate peace. Trusting too much to his powers of 
negotiation, and yielding to the treacherous advice of Cardinal 
Balue, one of his chief counselors, the king determined to go in 
person to confer with Charles of Burgundy. He soon learned 
that his safe-conduct was of little value. At Peronne, he found 
himself in the midst of enemies, and in reality a prisoner. While 
there, Liege was in revolt, as Charles ascertained, at the king's 
instigation. The wrathful duke could be appeased only by agree- 
ing to every thing that he required. Louis had to undergo the 
humiliation of attending Charles and his army, and of basely tak- 
ing part in the vengeance inflicted on the city which he had him- 
self stirred up to revolt. He was glad to escape with his life. 
After his return, he ordered Balue to be put in an iron cage, where 
he was kept for ten years, — a mode of punishment of Balue's own 
invention. Louis repudiated the treaty of Peronne, under the ad- 
vice of a body of Notables, all of whom he had nominated and 
summoned. A new league was organized against him ; but the 
king by his wariness, and by his promptitude in attacking Brittany, 
gained advantages, so that a truce was concluded with the Btir- 
gundian duke in 1472. Philip de Comniines, at that time a com- 
panion and counselor of Charles, left his service for that of Louis. 
To his Memoirs we owe most instructive and interesting details 
respecting these princes, and the manners and occurrences of the 
time. 

Charles the Bold, and the Swiss. — From this time Charles 
turned his attention eastward, and devoted himself to building up a 
great principality on the Rhine, which might open the way for his 
succession to the empire. It seemed to be his plan to bring to- 
gether the old kingdom of Lotharingia and that of the Burgundies. 
He found no sympathy in his schemes from the emperor Fred- 
erick LLL. The great barrier in Charles's way was the freedom- 
loving spirit of the inhabitants of the Swiss mountains. Availing 
himself of a plausible pretext, he endeavored to get possession of 
Cologne by first laying siege to Neuss, which lies below it. Wast- 
ing his strength in the unsuccessful attempt to capture this place, 
he failed to make a junction of his forces with the English troops 
who landed in France under his ally. King Edward IV. The 
English king was persuaded to make a truce with France by the 
wily Louis, who was constantly on the watch for any mistakes or 
mishaps of his impetuous Burgundian adversary. The cruelty of 
Charles to the Swiss inhabitants of Gra?ison, who had surrendered. 



FRANCE. 367 

brought upon him an attack of their exasperated countrymen near 
that place (1476). The Burgundians were routed ; and the duke's 
camp, with all its treasures, including his sword, the plate of his 
chapel, and precious stones of inestimable value, fell into the hands 
of the hardy mountaineers, who knew nothing of the worth of these 
things. The next year the Duke once more flung his reckless 
valor against the strength of the Swiss infantry, and barely escaped 
from an utter defeat at Morat. Made desperate by misfortune, 
he risked another battle n^dx Nanci, in 1477, at the head of an 
inferior force, composed partly of treacherous mercenaries, and was 
vanquished and slain. He had intended to make Nanci his capi- 
tal ; but his body was found near by in a swamp, stripped of its 
clothing, frozen, and covered with wounds. 

Extension of France. — Louis XL could hardly stifle expres- 
sions of joy at the news of the death of his hated and formidable 
rival. While Charles had been busy in Germany, Louis had 
taken the opportunity to put down, one by one, the great nobles 
who had shown themselves iU-affected. He secured to France 
Roussillon and the northern slopes of the Pyrenees. It was now 
his purpose to lay hold of as many as possible of the possessions 
of the late duke. Mary, the daughter of Charles the Bold, the 
heiress of Burgundy, gave her hand in marriage to Maximilian 
■of Austria, an event which carried after it the most important 
consequences. The result of the conflicts of Loicis and Maxi- 
milian was the Peace of Arras (1482), which left in the hands 
of France the towns on the Somme, and the great Burgujidian 
duchy. For a time Maximilian, as holder of the French fiefs of 
Flanders and Artois, was a vassal of the French king. On the 
death of King Rene, in 1480, and the extinction of the house of 
Anjou, Louis annexed the three great districts of Anjou, Maine, 
and Provence, the last of which was a fief of the empire. 

Last Days of Louis XI. — In his last days, old King Louis, in 
wretched health, tortured with the fear of death, and in constant 
dread of plots to destroy him, shut himself up in the castle of 
Pies s is- les- Tours, which he strongly fortified, and manned with 
guards who were instructed to shoot all who approached without 
leave. He kept up his activity in management, and in truth de- 
vised schemes for the advantage of his realm. His selfish and 
malignant temper brought to him one unexpected joy from the 
sudden death of Mary of Burgundy (1482), from which, how- 
ever, France did not reap the advantages which he expected. 
He died in 1483, at the age of sixty-one. He, more than any 
other, was the founder of the French monarchy in the later form. 
He centralized the administration of the government. He fought 
against feudalism, old and new. He strengthened, however, local 
authority where it did not interfere with the power of the king. 
In matters of internal government he was often just and wise. 



368 MODERN HISTORY. 

Charles VIII. (1483-1498) : Anne of Beaujeu. — Charles VIIL 
at the death of his father was only fourteen years old. But in 
his older sister, Anne of Beaujeu, the wife of Peter of Bourbon, he 
had an energetic guide who for ten years virtually managed public 
affairs. She proved too strong for the opposition of the royal 
princes, of the nobility, and of the States General. The nobles 
turned for support to Richard III. of Eiigland. Anne strengthened 
with men and money Henry of Richmond, the rival and conqueror 
of Richard. The Duke of Brittany, with his allies, the Duke of 
Orleans, the Prince of Orange, and others, was defeated in a 
hardly contested battle in 1488, which was followed by a treaty 
advantageous to France. The crowning achievement of Anne of 
Beaujeu was the marriage of Anne of Brittany to Charles VIII. 
This was accomplished although she had already been married by 
proxy to Maximilian, while Charles was pledged to marry Mar- 
garet, the emperor's daughter. If Anne of Brittany should out- 
live Charles, she engaged to marry his successor. This second 
marriage actually took place : she became the wife of Louis XII. 
Brittany was thus incorporated in France. The Italian expedi- 
tions, the great events in the reign of Charles VIII, will be 
related hereafter. 

11. ENGLAND. 

"Wars of the Roses : the House of York. — The crown in Eng- 
land had come to be considered as the property of a family, to 
which the legitimate heir had a sacred claim. The Wars of the 
Roses (1455-1485) grew out of family rivalries. It was a fight 
among nobles. But other reasons were not without influence. 
The party of York (whose badge was the white rose) was the 
popular party, which had its strength in Kent and in the trading 
cities. It went for reform of government. The party of Lancas- 
ter (whose badge was the red rose) was the more conservative 
party, having its strength among the barons of the North. Rich- 
ard, Duke of York, thought that he had a better claim to the Eng- 
lish crown than Heiiry VI. , because his ancestor, Lionel, was an 
older son of Edward III. than Johii of Gau?it, the ancestor of 
Henry. The king was insane at times, and Richard was made 
Protector or Regent of Parliament. But Henry, becoming better, 
drove him from his presence. He organized an insurrection, but 
was defeated in a battle at Wakefield by the troops of the strong- 
hearted queen. He was crowned with a wreath of grass, and then 
beheaded. His brave son, Rutland, was killed as he fled. But 
Richard's eldest son, Edward — Edward IV. (1461-1483) — 
supported by the powerful Earl of Warwick, "the king-maker," 
defeated the queen at Towton, took possession of the throne, and 
imprisoned Henry VI., who had fallen into imbecihty. Edward 



ENGLAND. 369 

was popular because he kept order. But the favors which he 
lavished on the Woodvilles, relatives of his Lancastrian wife Eliza- 
beth, enabled the opposing party, to which Warwick deserted, 
to get the upper hand (1470) ; and Edward fled to Holland. 
But he soon returned, and won the battles of Barnet and Tewkes- 
bury (147 1 ). Henry VI. was secretly murdered in the Tower. The 
house of Yo7'k was now in the ascendant. A quarrel between the 
king and his ambitious brother Clarence, who had married War- 
wick's daughter, led to the trial and condemnation of Clarence, 
who was put to death in the Tower. It was during the reign of 
Edward IV. that Caxton set up the first printing-press in Eng- 
land. After Edward his brother reigned, Richard III. (1483- 
1485), a brave but merciless man, who made his way to the throne 
by the death of the two young princes Edward and Richard, 
whose murder in the Tower he is with good reason supposed to 
have procured. He had pretended that Edward IV. had never 
been lawfully married to their mother. Henry Tudor, Earl of 
Richmond, descended by his mother from John of Gaunt, aided 
by France, landed in Wales, and won a victory at Bosworth over the 
adherents of the white rose, — a victory which gave him a kingdom 
and a crown. Thus the house of lancaster in the person of Henry 
VII. (1485-1509), gained the throne. He married Elizabeth, the 
eldest daughter of Edward IV., and so the two hostile houses were 
united. He was the first of the Tudor kings. 

Character of the Civil Wars. — The Wars of the Roses are, in 
certain respects, peculiar. They extended over a long period, but 
did not include more than three years of actual fighting. The 
battles were fierce, and the combatants unsparing in the treatment 
of their foes. Yet the population of the country did not diminish. 
Business and the administration of justice went on as usual. Trade 
began to be held in high esteem, and traders to amass wealth. The 
number of journeymen and day-laborers increased, and there was 
a disposition to break through the guild laws. 

Effects of the Civil Wars. — The most striking result of the 
civil wars was the strengthening of the power of the king. Not 
more than thirty of the old nobles survived. Laws were made for- 
bidding the nobles to keep armed" retainers ; " and against " main- 
tenance,''' or the custom of nobles to promise to support, in their 
quarrels or law-cases, men who adhered to them. The court of 
the Star Chamber was set up to prevent these abuses. It was 
turned into an instrument of tyranny in the hands of the kings. 
Henry VII. extorted from the rich, '■^benevolences," or gifts soli- 
cited by the king, which the law authorized him to collect as a tax. 
He contrived to get money in such ways, and thus to carry forward 
the government without Parliament, which met only once during 
the last thirteen years of his reign. Royal power, in relation to the 



370 MODERN HISTORY. 

nobles, was further exalted by the introduction of cannon into 
warfare, which only the king possessed. Two pretenders to the 
throne, Lajiibert Sininel ( 148 7) , and Perkin Warbeck ( 1492) , were 
raised up ; but the efforts made to dethrone Henry proved abor- 
tive. He kept watch over his enemies at home and abroad, and 
punished all resistance to his authority. Circumstances enabled 
the founder of the Tudor line to exalt the power of the king over 
the heads of both the nobles and the commons. 

III. SPAIN. 

Ferdinand of Aragon (1479-1516). — The union of ^r^^^;^ and 
Castile, by the marriage of Ferdinand axid Isabella (1474-1504), 
was nominal, as each sovereign reigned independently in his own 
dominion. But both sovereigns were bent on the same end, — 
that of subjecting the powerful grandees and feudal lords to their 
authority. In this policy they found efficient helpers in the shrewd 
and loyal counselor Mendoza, Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo, 
and in Ximenes, who combined the qualities of a prelate of strict 
orthodoxy with those of a profound and energetic statesman. To 
bring both nobles and clergy into subservience to the crown, was 
their great aim ; and for this end the sagacious Ferdi7iand pro- 
cured from the Pope the privilege of filling the bishoprics and the 
grand masterships of the military orders. He deprived the nobles 
of their judicial functions, which he committed to impartial and 
severe tribunals of his own creation. He re-organized and strength- 
ened the Holy Hermanadad, or militia of the cities, and thus had 
at his service against the grandees a standing military force. He 
used the nobles and the cities to keep one another in check. Over 
both stood the Inquisition, — a tribunal established against the 
Moors and the Jeius who had made an outward profession of 
Christianity, but which under Torquemada, who had been con- 
fessor of the queen, became a terror to all Spain. The king had the 
power to name the Grand Inquisitor and all the judges ; and he 
thus acquired in this institution not only a fearful weapon against 
heretics of every description, but also a political instrument for 
the subjugation of the nobles and the clergy. By this alliance of 
the throne and the altar, the despotic power of Ferdinand had the 
firmest prop. 

Conquest of Granada. — After a ten-years' bloody war, the 
Moorish kingdom of Granada was conquered. The capital, with 
the famous castle of Alhambra, was captured (1492). The de- 
throned Moorish king, Boabdil, robbed of his possessions, sailed 
to Africa, where he fell in battle. By the terms of their surrender, 
the Moors were to have the free exercise of their religion. But 
the promise was not kept. Choice was given to the Moslems to 
become Christians, or to emigrate. Many left to wage war else- 



SPAIN. — GERMANY. 371 

where against their Spanish persecutors, either as corsairs in Africa, 
or as bands of robbers in Sierra Nevada. The professed converts 
were goaded by cruel treatment into repeated insurrections. It was 
a fierce war of races and rehgions. The frightful sufferings of the 
Moors, under the pressure of this double fanaticism, form a long 
and gloomy chapter of Spanish history. The dismal tale continues 
until " the cruel expulsion from the kingdom of nearly a million of 
this unhappy people by Philip III., in 1609. 

Ferdinand, Regent of Castile. — Most of the children of Fer- 
dinand and Isabella died young. Their daughter Joanna mar- 
ried Philip of Burgundy, son of Maximilian and Mary ; but he 
died in 1506, at the age of twenty-eight. They had been recog- 
nized as the rulers of Castile. But the mind oi Joan7ia, who 
had always been eccentric, became disordered, so that the govern- 
ment devolved on Ferdinand, her father. He placed her in the 
castle at Toi-desillas, where the remainder of her life, which con- 
tinued forty-seven years longer, was spent. Ferdinatid was, in 
form, constituted by the Cortes (15 10), regent of the kingdom 
in the name of his daughter, and as guardian of her son (^Charles), 
Ferdinand administered the government with wisdom and moder- 
ation. As there were no children by his second marriage with 
Germaine de Foix, niece of Louis XII. of France, the succession 
'of Joa^ina's son remained secure. Ferdinand availed himself of 
the disturbances in France to annex to Castile the portion of Na- 
varre lying on the south of the Pyrenees. 

IV. GERMANY AND THE EMPIRE. 

Frederick III. (1440-1493). — While England, Finance, znd Spain 
were organizing monarchy, Italy and Germany kept up the anar- 
chical condition of the Middle Ages. Hence these countries, first 
Italy and then Germany, became enticing fields of conquest for 
other nations. Frederick III. was the last emperor crowned at 
Rome (1452), and only one other emperor after him was crowned 
by the Pope. Frederick reigned longer than any other German 
king before or after him. He lacked energy, neglected the empire, 
and busied himself in enlarging his Austrian domains, which he 
erected into an archduchy (1453). When he sought to interfere 
with the German princes, they set him at defiance. He did little 
more than remain an indolent spectator of the conflict in which 
the Swiss overthrew Charles the Bold. The great danger to Europe 
was now from the Turks. Christendom was defended by the Poles 
and the Hungarians. Frederick left the Hungarians, under the 
gallant John IIu7iyady, without his help, to drive them, in 1456, 
from Belgrade. He tried to obtain the Bohemian and Hunga- 
rian crowns ; but Podiehrad, a Utraquist nobleman, was made king 
of Bohemia, and Matthias Corvinus succeeded Hunyady, his fa- 



372 MODERN HISTORY. 

ther, on the throne of Hungary. By the death of Albert, the 
brother of Frederick, to whom the emperor had been compelled 
to give up Vienna, he became master of all the Austrian lands 
except Tyrol. He was bent on getting the Hungarian crown ; but 
Vienna was taken by Matthias, in 1485, and the emperor had to 
fly for his life. A great confederation, composed of princes, no- 
bles, and cities, was made in Swabia, for repressing private war, 
and did much good m South Germany. The western part of 
Prussia was taken from the Teutonic Knights by the Peace of 
Thorn, in 1466, and annexed to Poland \yj Casimir IV. 

Maximilian I. (1493-1519). — Maximilian I. was a restless prince, 
eager for adventure. Although not crowned, he was authorized by 
Pope Julius II. to style himself " Emperor Elect." In his reign, 
efforts, only in part successful, were made to secure peace and order 
in Germany. At the Diet of Worins in 1495, a perpetual public 
peace, or prohibition of private feuds, was proclaimed ; and a court 
called the Imperial Chamber, the judges of which, except the 
president, were appointed by the states, was constituted to adjust 
controversies among them. The benefits of this arrangement were 
partly defeated by the Aulic Council, an Austrian tribunal estab- 
lished by Maximilian for his own domains, but which interfered 
in matters properly belonging to the Chamber. Germany was 
also divided into circles, or districts, for governmental purposes. 
In 1499 Maximilian endeavored, without success, to coerce the 
Swiss League into submission to the Imperial Chamber, and to 
punish it for helping the French in their Italian invasion. Al- 
though he was brave, cultured, and eloquent, he lacked persever- 
ance, and not a few of his numerous projects failed. The most 
fortunate event in his hfe, as regards the aggrandizement of his 
house, was his marriage to Mary of Burgundy ( 1 4 7 7 ) • His grand- 
son Ferdinand married the sister of Louis II., the last king of 
Bohemia of the Polish line, who was also king of Hungary ; and 
by the election Qi Ferdinand \o be his successor (1526), both 
these countries were added to the vast possessions of the Austrian 
family. To Maximilian's doings in Italy, we shall soon refer. 

German Cities. — From the middle of the thirteenth century there was 
a rapid growth of German cities, and an advance of the trading-classes. The 
cities gained a large measure of self-government, and were prosperous little 
republics. They were centers of commerce and wealth, and often exercised 
power much beyond their own precincts, which were well defended by ditches, 
walls, and towers. The old Gothic town-halls in Aix, Niiremburg, Cologne, 
etc., are monuments of municipal thrift and dignity. Their churches and 
convents grew rich, and schools with numerous pupils were connected with 
them. Dwellings became more comfortable and attractive. All branches of 
art and manufacture flourished. The city nobles and the guilds had their 
banquets. In the church festivals all the people took part. The German 
cities, such as Mayence, Wortns, Strasburg, Liibeck, Augsburg, excited the 
admiration even of Italian visitors. 



THE MEDICI. 



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374 MODERN HISTORY. 



V. ITALY, 

Condition of Italy. — Italy, at the epoch of the French inva- 
sions, was the most prosperous as well as the most enlightened 
and civilized country in Europe. Its opulent and splendid cities 
were the admiration of all visitors from the less favored countries 
of the North. But national unity was wanthig. The country was 
made up of discordant states. Venice was ambitious of conquest ; 
and the pontiffs in this period, to the grief of all true friends of 
religion, were absorbed in Italian politics, being eager to carve 
out principalities for their relatives. Italy was exposed to two 
perils. On the one hand, it was menaced by the Ottoman Turks ; 
not to speak of the kings of France and Spain, who were rival 
aspirants for control in the Italian peninsula. On the other hand, 
voyages of discovery were threatening to open new highways of 
commerce to supersede the old routes of traffic through its mari- 
time cities. 

Milan. — The fall of Constantinople produced a momentary 
union in Italy. At Lodi, in 1454, the principal states took an 
oath of perpetual concord, — Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan ; 
Cosmo de Medici, to whom Florence had given the name of 
"Father of his Country;" Alfonso V. the Magnanimous, king of 
Naples and Sicily; the Popes Calixtus III. and Pius II. (1458- 
1464). But conflicts soon arose among them. An abortive 
attempt was made by John of Calabria to deprive Ferdinand of 
Naples of his inheritance (1462). In 1478 there was a coalition 
against Florence ; in 1482, a coalition against Venice. The Turks 
made the best use of these quarrels, and captured Otranto (1480), 
killing or enslaving twelve thousand Christians. The idea of the 
ancients that tyrannicide is a virtue, whether the master be good 
or bad, was caught up, and gave rise to conspiracies. At Milan, in 
1476, the cruel Duke Galeazzo Maria was assassinated by three 
young men, near the Church of St. Stephen. Giovanni Galeazzo, 
his son, a minor, married a daughter of the king of Naples. But 
his uncle, Liulovico il Moro, had seized on power, and ruled in 
the name of Giovanni (1480). He imprisoned Giovanni and 
his young wife ; and being threatened by the king of Naples, who 
had for an ally Peter de Medici, he formed an alliance with the 
Pope and the Venetians ; and, not confiding in them, he invited 
Charles VIII. of France to invade the kingdom of Naples. Genoa 
fell under the yoke of Ludovico, who was invested with it by 
Charles VIII. as a fief of France. 

Venice. — Venice, which up to the fall of Constantinople had 
been the strongest of the Italian states, forgot its duties and its 
dangers in relation to the Turks, in order to aggrandize itself in 
Italy. It could not avoid war with them, which broke out in 1464. 



ITALY. 375 

The Turks took Negropont and Scutari, passed the Piave, and 
the fires kindled by their troops could be seen from Venice. The 
city made a shameful treaty with them, paying them a large sum 
(1479). But four years after, it conquered Cyprus, which it did 
not scruple to demand the privilege of holding as a fief of the 
Sultan of Egypt. The great power of Venice at this time was a 
cause of alarm to all the other states ; but their first combina- 
tion against it in 1482, in defense of the Duke of Ferrara, was of 
no effect. In 1454 the government of Venice was placed practi- 
cally in the hands of three " inquisitors,''' who exercised despotic 
power under the old forms, and, by such means as secret trials and 
executions, maintained internal order and quiet at the cost of 
liberty. Its soldiers were condottieri, under foreign leaders, whom 
it watched with the utmost jealousy. 

Florence. — Cosmo de Medici had continued to be a man of 
the people (p. 339). But the members of his family who fol- 
lowed him, while they copied his munificence and public spirit, 
behaved more as princes. Against Peter I. plots were formed by 
the nobles, but were baffled (1465). Jej'ome Piario, a nephew 
of Pope Sixtus IV., strove with papal help to conquer for himself 
a principality in the Romagna. The Florentines protested against 
it as a breach of the treaty of Lodi. Hence Riario took part in 
the, conspiracy of the Pazzi against the lives of Lorenzo and 
Julian, sons of Cosmo. They were attacked in the cathedral of 
Florence by the assassins, during the celebration of mass ; Julian 
was killed, but Lorenzo escaped. The Archbishop of Pisa, one of 
the accomplices, was hung from his palace window in his pon- 
tifical robes. The Pope excommunicated the Medici, and all the 
Italian states plunged into war. The capture of Otranto at this 
time by the Turks frightened the princes. Lorenzo de Medici 
repaired in person to Naples to negotiate with Ferdinand, the 
Pope's ally, and peace was concluded. Lorenzo earned the name 
of " The Magnificent " by his lavish patronage of literature and 
art. 

Savonarola. — Against the rule of Lore7izo, one voice was 
raised, that of the Dominican xaoxik Jerome Savonarola, a preach- 
er of fervid eloquence, who aimed in his harangues, not only to 
move individuals to repentance, but to bring about a thorough 
amendment of public morals, and a political reform in the direc- 
tion of liberty. In his discourses, however, he lashed the ecclesi- 
astical corruptions of the time, not sparing those highest in power. 
There were two parties, that of the young nobles, — the at-ribiati, 
or " enraged ; " and that of the people, — iht frateschi, or friends 
of the monks. Savonarola proclaimed that a great punishment 
was impending over Italy. He predicted the invasion from north 
of the Alps. 



376 



MODERN HISTORY. 



Florence in the Age of Lorenzo. — Florence in the time of Lorenzo 
presented striking points of resemblance to Athens in its most flourishing 
days. In some respects, the two communities were quite unlike. Florence 
was not a conquering power, and Iiad no extensive dominion. Civil and mili- 
tar}' life were distinct from one another : the Italian had come to rely more 
upon diplomacy than upon arms, and his wealth and mercantile connections 
made him anxious to avoid war. In Florence, moreover, trade and the me- 
chanic arts were in high repute ; industry was widely diffused, and was held 
in honor. But in equality and pride of citizenship, in versatility of talent 
and intellectual activity, in artistic genius and in appreciation of the prod- 
ucts of art, in refinement of manners, cheerfulness of temper, and a joyous 
social life, the Florentines in the fifteenth century compare well with the 
Athenians in the age of Pericles. In Florence, the burgess or citizen had at- 
tained to the standing to which in other countries he only aspired. Nobility 
of blood was counted as of some worth; but where there was not wealth or 
intellect with it, it was held in comparatively low esteem. Prosperous mer- 
chants, men of genius and education, and skillful artisans were on a level 
with the best. Men of noble extraction engaged in business. The common- 
wealth conferred knighthood on the deserving, according to the practice of 
sovereign princes. Persons of the highest social standing did not disdain to 
labor in their shops and counting-houses. Frugal in their domestic life, the 
Florentines strove to maintain habits of frugality by strict sumptuary laws. 
Limits were set to indulgence in finery, food, etc. The population of Flor- 
ence somewhat exceeded one hundred thousand. In the neighborhood of 
the city, there was a multitude of attractive, richly furnished villas and country- 
houses. Among the industries in which the busy population was engaged in 
1472, a chronicler enumerates eighty-three rich and splendid warehouses of 
the silk-merchants' guild, thirty-three great banks, and forty-four goldsmiths' 
and jewellers' shops. The houses of the rich were furnished with elegance, 
and decorated with beautiful works of art. There was a great contrast be- 
tween the simplicity of ordinary domestic life, especially as regards provisions 
for the table, and the splendor displayed on public occasions, or when guests 
were to be hospitably entertained. The effect of literary culture was seen 
in the tone of conversation. It is remarkable that the great sculptors were 
all goldsmiths, and came out of the workshop. A new generation of painters 
had a like practical training. In those days, there was a union of manual 
skill with imagination. The art of the goldsmith preceded and outstripped 
all the others. In such a society, there was naturally a great relish for public 
festivals, both sacred and secular. Everywhere in Italy the Mysteries, or 
religious plays, exhibiting events of scriptural history, were in vogue ; bril- 
liant pantomimes were enjoyed, and the festivities of the yearly carnival were 
keenly relished. In the government of Florence, the liberty of the citizens 
was mainly confined to the choosing of their magistrates. Once in office, 
they ruled with arbitrary power. There was no liberty of the press, nor was 
there freedom of discussion in the public councils. It was a community 
where, with all its cultivation and elegance, morality was at a low ebb. 
Lorenzo himself, although " he had all the qualities of poet and statesman, 
connoisseur and patron of learning, citizen and prince," nevertheless "could 
not keep himself from the epicureanism of the time," and was infected with 
its weaknesses and vices. "These joyous and refined civilizations," writes 
M. Taine, "based on a worship of pleasure and intellectuality, — Greece of the 
fourth century, Provence of the twelfth, and Italy of the sixteenth, — were not 
enduring. Man in these lacks some checks. After sudden outbursts of genius 
and creativeness, he wanders away in the direction of license and egotism ; the 
degenerate artist and thinker makes room for the sophist and the dilettant." 

The Popes. — The Va^^^i, Nicholas V. (1447-1455), a protect- 
or of scholars and a cultivated man, and Pius II. (1458-1464), 



THE OTTOMAN SULTANS. 3// 

THE OTTOMAN SULTANS. 



Othman, 1307-1325. 



Orchaii, 1325-1359. Alaeddin. 



Amvii-ath I, 1359-1389. 
ISajazet I, 1389-1402. 



Soliman, 1402-1410. Musa, 1410-1413. Issa. Mohammed I, 1413-1421 



Amurath II, 1421-1451. 
Moliammed II, 1451-1481. 



Bajazet II, 1481-1512. Djem. 



Selim I, 1512-1520. 

Solliuan I, 1520-1566. 

Selim II, 1566-1574. 

Amurath III, 1574-1595. 

Mohammed III, 1595-1603. 

Achmet I, 1603-1617. Mnstapha I, 1617-1618, 1622-1623. 



Othman II, 1618-1622. Amurath IV, 1623-1640. Ibrahim, 1640-1649, deposed. 

Mohammed IV, 1649-1687, deposed. Soliman II, Achmet II, 

I 1687-1691. 1691-1695. 



Mustapha II, 1695-1703, deposed. Achmet III, 1703-1730, deposed. 



Mahmoud I, Othman III, Mustapha III, Abul Hamid I, 1774-1789. 
1730-1754. 1754-1757- 1757-1774- 



Selim 111, Mustapha IV, Mahmoud II, 1808-1839. 

1789-1807, deposed. 1807-1808, deposed. , 



Abdul Medjid, 1839-1861. Abdul Aziz, 1861-1876. 



Murad V (June 4, 1876-Aug. 31, 1876). Abdul Hamid II (Aug. 31, 1876-). 

[Mainly from George's Genealogical Tables.^ 



378 MODERN HISTORY. 

zealously but in vain exhorted to crusades against the Turk. 
Paul II. (1464-1471) pursued the same course; but after him, 
for a half-century, there ensued the deplorable era when the pon- 
tiffs were more busied with other interests than with those per- 
taining to the weal of Christianity. The pontificates of Sixtus 
IV. (1471-1484), Innocent VIII (1484-1492), and especially of 
Alexander VI. (1492-1503), the second pope of the Borgia 
family, present a lamentable picture of worldly schemes and of 
"nepotism," as the projects for the temporal advancement of 
their relatives were termed. The Roman principality was the prey 
of petty tyrants, and the theater of wars, and of assassinations 
perpetrated by the knife or with poison. Alexander VI suc- 
ceeded in subduing or destroying all these petty lords. He was 
seconded in these endeavors by his son Ccesar Borgia, brave, 
accomplished, and fascinating, but a monster of treachery and 
cruelty. No deed was savage or base enough to cost him any 
remorse. Hardly had he acquired the Romagna, when Pope 
Alexander died. Although his death was due to Roman fever, 
legend speedily ascribed it to poison. His son was betrayed, was 
imprisoned for a time by Ferdinand the CathoHc, and, while he 
was in the service of the King of Navarre, was slain before the 
castle of Viana. 

Naples. — In Naples, Ferdinand I, who was established on his 
throne by the defeat of his competitors in 1462, provoked a revolt 
of his barons by his tyranny, invited them to a festival to cele- 
brate a reconciliation with them, and caused them to be seized at 
the table, and then to be put to death. He treated the people 
with equal injustice and cruelty. He allowed the Turks to take 
Otranto (1480), and the Venetians to take Gallipoli and Poli- 
castro (1484). 

Weakness of Italy. — Italy, at the close of the fifteenth cen- 
tury, with all its proficiency in art and letters, and its superiority 
in the comforts and elegances of life, was a prey to anarchy. 
This was especially true after the death of Lorenzo de Medici. 
Diplomacy had become a school of fraud. Battles had come to 
be, in general, bloodless ; but either perfidy, or prison and the 
dagger, were the familiar instruments of warfare. The country 
from its beauty, its wealth, and its factious state, was an alluring 
prize to foreign invaders. 



THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 379 



VI. THE OITOMAN TURKS. 

Their Conquests. — The empire of Mohammed II. (1451- 
148 1 ) extended from the walls oi Belgrade, on the Danube, to the 
middle of Asia Minor. To the east was the Seljukian principality 
of Caramania in the center of Asia Minor, and, when that was 
finally overthrown (i486), /'^/■j'/a, whose hostility was inflamed 
by differences of sect. The conquest of the Greek Empire was 
achieved by Mohammed. Matthias Corvinus ( 1458-1493), the 
successor of Himyady, was the greatest of the kings of Hungary, 
and defended the line of the Danube against the Turkish assaults. 
For twenty-three years Scanderbeg, the intrepid Prince of Alba- 
nia, repulsed all the attacks of the Moslems. It was not until ten 
years after his death (1467) that his principal stronghold was 
surrendered to the invaders. The attacks on the Venetians have 
already been mentioned, as well as the capture of Otrajito. 
Bajazet II. was more inclined to study than to war : his brother 
Djem, who tried to supplant him, passed as a prisoner into the 
hands of Pope Alexander VI. An annual tribute was paid by the 
Sultan for keeping him from coming back to Turkey ; and when, 
at last, he was released, rumor declared that he had been poisoned. 
Selim I. (1512-1520) entered anew on the path of conquest. He 
defeated the Persia^is, and made the Tigris his eastern boundary. 
He annexed to his empire Mesopota7nia, Syria, and Egypt. The 
Sultan now became the commander of the faithful, the inheritor 
of the prophetic as well as military leadership. The conquest 
of Alexandria by Selim (15 17) inflicted a mortal blow on the 
commerce of Venice, by intercepting its communication with the 
Orient. The despotic domination oi Selim stretched from the Dan- 
ube to the Euphrates, and from the Adriatic to the cataracts of the 
Nile. Such was the empire which the Ottoman conqueror handed 
down to his son, Soliman I. the Magnificent (15 20-1 5 66). Mo- 
hammed II. and Selim were the two conquerors by whom the 
Ottoman Empire was built up. Each of them combined with an 
iron will and revolting cruelty a taste for science and poetry, and 
the genius of a ruler. They take rank among the most eminent 
tyrants in Asiatic history. While they were spreading their do- 
minion far and wide, the popes and the sovereigns of the West 
did nothing more effectual than to debate upon the means of 
confronting so great a dangei, 



38o 



MODERN HISTORY. 



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RX^SSIA. 381 



VII. RUSSIA. 



Russia : Ivan III. — For two centuries Russia paid tribute to the 
Tartar conquerors in the South, the "Golden Horde" (p. 283). 
The hberator of his people from this yoke was Ivan III., — Ivan 
the Great, — (146 2- 15 05). In the period when the nations of the 
West were becoming organized, Russia escaped from its servitude, 
and made some beginnings of intellectual progress. Ivan was a 
cold and calculating man, who preferred to negotiate rather than 
to fight ; but he inflicted savage punishments, and even " his 
glance caused women to faint." He was able to subdue the rich 
trading-city of Novgorod (1478), which had been connected 
with the Hanseatic League, and where a party endeavored to 
bring to pass a union with Poland. He conquered unknown 
frozen districts in the North, and smaller princedoms, including 
Tver, in the interior. The empire of the Horde was so broken up 
that Ivan achieved an almost bloodless triumph, which made 
Russia free. In wars with Lithuania, Western Russia was recon- 
quered up to the Soja. Ivan married Sophia Palceobgus, a niece 
of the last Christian emperor of the East. She taught him " to 
penetrate the secret of autocracy." Numerous Greek emigrants 
of different arts and professions came to Moscow. Ivan took for 
-the new arms of Russia the two-headed eagle of the Byzantine 
Caesars, and thenceforward Russia looked on herself as the heir of 
the Eastern Empire. The Russian metropolitan, called afterwards 
Patriarch, was now elected by Russian bishops. Moscow became 
"the metropolis of orthodoxy," and as such the protector of 
Greek Christians in the East. Ivan laid out in the city the fortified 
inclosure styled the Kremlin. He brought into the country Ger- 
man and Italian mechanics. It was he who founded the greatness 
of Russia. Vassali Ivanovitch (1505-1533), his son, continued 
the struggle with Lithuania, and acquired Smolensk (15 14). 
He exchanged embassies with most of the sovereigns of the West. 

Ivan IV. (1533-15Q4:). — Ivan IV., Ivan the Terrible, first took 
the title of Czar, since attached to " the Autocrat of all the Rus- 
sias." It was the name that was given, in the Slavonian books 
which he read, to the ancient kings and emperors of the East and 
of Rome. Moscow was now to be a third Rome, the successor of 
Constantinople. Ivan conquered the Tartar principahties of Kazan 
and Astrakhan in the South, and extended his dominion to the 
Caucasus. The Volga, through its entire course, was now a Russian 
river. He brought German mechanics into Russia, estabhshed 
printing-presses, and made a commercial treaty with Queen Eliza- 
beth, whom he invited to an alliance against Poland and Sweden. 
It was in this reign (1581-1582) that a brigand chief, Irmak by 
name (a Cossack, in the service of the Czar), crossed the Urals 



382 MODERN HISTORY. 

with a few hundred followers, and made the conquest of the vast 
region of Siberia, then under the dominion of the Tartars. Ivan 
sent thither bishops and priests. He had to cede Livonia to the 
Simedes, who, with their allies were too strong to be overcome. In 
Russia, he put down the aristocracy, and crushed all resistance to 
his personal rule. Whatever tyranny and cruelty this result cost, 
it prevented Russia from becoming an anarchic kingdom like 
Poland. Ivan, by forming the national guard of streltsi or strelitz, 
laid the foundation of a standing army. In his personal conduct, 
brutal and sensual practices alternated with exercises of piety. In 
a fit of wrath, he struck his son Ivan a fatal blow, and in conse- 
quence was overwhelmed with sorrow. After a short reign of his 
second son, Feodor (i 584-1 598), who was weak in mind and body, 
the throne was usurped by one of the aristocracy, the able and 
ambitious regent, Boris Godounof (i 598-1 605). 

The Cossacks. — These were brought into subjection by Ivan IV. 
and his successors. They were robber hordes of mixed origin, 
partly Tartar and partly Russian. Their abodes were near the 
rapids of the Dnieper, and on the Don, and at the foot of the 
Caucasus. They were fierce warriors, and did a great service to 
Russia in subduing the wild nomad tribes on the north and east 
of the regions where the Cossacks dwelt 

Times of Trouble. — After the death of Boris Godouitof, two 
pretenders, one after the other, each assuming to be Demetrius, 
the younger son of Ivan, — a son who had been put to death, — 
seized on power. . This was rendered possible by the mutual strife 
of Russian factions, and by the help afforded to the impostors by 
the Poles. Sigisviund III, king of Poland, openly espoused the 
cause of the second Demetrius. Moscow was forced to surrender 
(1610) ; and the czar whom the nobles had enthroned, Basil V., 
died in a Polish prison. These events gave rise to a lasting enmity 
between the two Slavonic nations. In 1 6 1 1 the Poles were driven 
out by a national rising, which led to the elevation to the throne 
o( Michael Romanoff (16 13-1645), the founder of the present dy- 
nasty of czars. Peace was concluded with Gustavus Adolphus of 
Sweden, and with the Poles. Commercial treaties were made with 
foreign nations. In Russia there was a great increase of internal 
prosperity. 

Serfdom in Russia. — The lower classes in Russia consisted of three 
divisions: i. Slaves, captives taken in war, who were bought and sold. 
2. The inscribed peasants, who were attached to the soil and became serfs. 
They belonged to the comnitme, or village, which held the land, and as a unit 
paid to the lord his dues. They made up the bulk of the rural population. 
The peasant was an arbitrary master, a little czar in his own family. 3. The 
free laborers, who could change their masters, but who soon fell into the 
rank of serfs. While the higher classes in Russia advanced, the condition 
of the rustics for several centuries continued to grow worse. 



INVASIONS OF ITALY. 383 

Russian Society. — The great nobles kept in their castles a host of 
servants. These were slaves, subject to the caprices of their master. Russian 
women were kept in seclusion. There was an Asiatic stamp imprinted on civil 
and social life. "Thanks to the general ignorance, there was no intellectual 
life in Russia: thanks to the seclusion of women, there was no society." By 
degrees intercourse with Western Europe was destined to soften, in some 
particulars, the harsh outlines of this picture. 

VIII. FRENCH INVASIONS OF ITALY. 

Effect of Absolute Monarchy. — The establishment of absolute 
monarchy in Western Europe placed the resources of the nations 
at the service of their respective kings. The desire of national 
aggrandizement led to great European wars, which took the place 
of the feudal conflicts of a former day. These wars began with 
the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII., king of France. 

Motives of the Invasion. — To this unwise enterprise Charles 
VIII. was impelled by a romantic dream of conquest, which was 
not to be limited to the Italian peninsula. He intended to attack 
the Turks afterward, and to establish once more, under his pro- 
tection, a Latin kingdom at Jerusalem. His counselors could not 
dissuade him from the hazardous undertaking. In order to set 
his hands free, he made treaties that were disadvantageous to 
France with Henry VII., Maxiviilian, and Ferdinand the Cath- 
blic. - He was invited to cross the Alps by Liidovico il Mora 
(p. 374), by the Neapolitan barons, by all the enemies of Pope 
Alexander VI. The special ground of the invasion was the claim 
of the French king, through the house of Anjoii, to the throne of 
Naples. In 1494 Charles crossed the Alps with a large army, 
and, with the support of Liidovico, advanced from Milan, through 
Florence and Ro?ne to Naples. When he was crowned he wore the 
imperial insignia as if pretending to the Empire of the East also. 
The rapid progress of the French power alarmed the Pope and 
the other princes, including Liidovico himself, who was afraid that 
the king might cast a covetous eye on his own principality. A 
formidable league was formed against Charles, including, besides 
the Italian princes, Ferdinand, Maximilian, and Hcmy VII. of 
England. It was the first European combination against France. 
Cha7-les left eleven thousand men under Gilbert de Montpensier, 
2X Naples ; and after being exposed to much peril, although he 
won a victory at Fornovo (1495), ^^ rnade his way back to France. 
Ferdinand II., aided by Spanish troops, expelled the French from 
Naples ; and the remnant of their garrisons, after the death of 
Montpensier, was led back to France. The conquests of Charles 
were lost as speedily as they were gained. His great expedition 
proved a failure. 

Death of Savonarola. — Civil strife continued in the Italian 
states. Savonarola had been excommunicated by Alexander VI. 



384 MODERN HISTORY. 

The combination of parties against him was coo strong to be over- 
come by his supporters, and he was put to death in 1498. 

Louis XII. (1498-1515) : his First Italian War.— On the death 
of Charles VIII., who left no male children, the crown reverted to 
his nearest relative, Louis of Orleans. He entered once more on 
the aggressive enterprise begun by his predecessor. He laid claim 
not only to the rights of Charles VIII. at Naples, but also claimed 
Milan through his grandmother Valentine Visconti. In alliance 
with Venice, and with Florence to which he promised Pisa, then 
in revolt against the detested Florentine supremacy, and with the 
support of CcEsar Borgia, he entered Italy, and defeated Ludovico 
il Moro dit Novara (1500). Ludovico had before been driven out 
of Milan by the French, but had regained the city. He was im- 
prisoned in France ; and on his release twelve years afterward, he 
died from joy. Louis bargained with Ferdinand the Catholic to 
divide with him the Neapolitan kingdom. Ferdinand, the king of 
Naples, was thus dethroned. But Ferdinand of Spain was as 
treacherous in his dealing with Louis as he had been in relation 
to his Neapolitan namesake ; and the kingdom fell into the hands 
of Gonsalvo de Cordova, the Spanish general. 

The Second Italian War of Louis. — Anxious for revenge, Louis 
sent two armies over the Pyrenees, which failed of success, and a 
third army into Italy under La Tremoille, which was defeated by 
Gonsalvo, notwithstanding the gallantry of Bayard, the pattern of 
chivalry, the French knight " without fear and without reproach." 

The Third Italian War of Louis. — The third Italian war of 
Louis began in 1507, and lasted eight years. It includes the his- 
tory of the League of Cambray, and also of the an ti- French 
League subsequently formed. France was barely saved from great 
calamities in consequence of foolish treaties, three in number, 
made at Blois in 1504. The party of the queen, Anne of Brit- 
tany, secured the betrothal of Claude, the child of Louis XII., to 
Charles of Austria, afterwards Charles V., the son of Philip, with 
the promise of Burgundy and Brittany as her dowry. The arrange- 
ment was repudiated by the estates of France (1506). Claude 
was betrothed to Francis of Angouleme, the king's nearest male 
relative, and the heir of the French crown. On the marriage of 
Fei'dinand to Germaine of Foix, Louis agreed to give up his 
claims on Naples. The sufferings of Italy had redounded to the 
advantage of Venice. Among her other gains, she had annexed 
certain towns in the Romagna which fell into anarchy at the ex- 
pulsion of CcEsar Borgia. The energetic Pope, Julius II. , organized 
a combination, the celebrated League of Cambray (1508), between 
himself, the Emperor Maximitian, the kings of France and of 
Aragon : its object was the humbling of Venice, and the division 
of her mainland possessions among the partners in the League. A 



TUDORS AND STUARTS. 



385 



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386 MODERN HISTORY. 

fine army of Louis, composed of French, Lombards, and Swiss, 
crossed the Adda, and routed the Venetians, who abandoned all their 
towns outside of Venice. Each of the other confederate powers 
now seized the places which it desired. France, mistress of Milan, 
was at the height of her power. The Venetians, however, retook 
Padua from the emperor. The Pope made peace with them, and, 
fired with the spirit of Italian patriotism, organized a new league 
for the expulsion of the French — "the barbarians," as he called 
them — from the country. Old m.an as he was, he took the field 
himself in the dead of winter. He was defeated, and went to 
Rome. Louis convoked a council at Pisa, which was to depose 
Julius. A Holy League was formed between the Pope, Venice, 
Ferdinand of Aragon, and Henry VLLI. of England. The arms 
of the French under Gaston of Foix, the young duke of Nemours, 
were for a while successful. Ravenna was in their hands. But 
Gaston fell at the moment of victory. The Swiss came down, and 
established Maximilian Sforza at Milan. Leo X., of the house 
of Medici, and hostile to France, was chosen Pope (15 13). The 
French troops were defeated by the Swiss near Novara, and driven 
beyond the Alps. France was attacked on the north by the Eng- 
lish, with Maximilian, who had joined the League in 1513 : and 
Bayard was taken captive. James LV. of Scotland, who had 
made a diversion in favor of France, was beaten and slain at 
Flodden Field (15 13). The eastern borders of France were 
attacked by the Swiss Leagues, who, aided by Austrians, pene- 
trated as far as Dijon. They were bought off by La Tremoille 
the French commander, by a large payment of money, and by 
still more lavish promises. France concluded peace with the 
Pope, the emperor, and the king of Aragon (15 14), and in the 
next year with Henry VLIL., whose sister, Mary, Louis XIL mar- 
ried, a few months after the death of Anne of Brittany. He 
abandoned his pretensions to the Milanese, in favor of his younger 
daughter Renee, the wife of Hercules LL., the duke of Ferrara. 
Louis died (15 15), shortly after his marriage. The policy of the 
belligerent pontiff, Julius LL, had triumphed. The French were 
expelled from Italy, but the Spaniards were left all the stronger. 

The events just narrated bring us into the midst of the struggles 
and ambitions of ruling houses, diplomatic intercourse among 
states, and international wars. These are . distinguishing features 
of modern times. 



THE RENAISSANCE. 387 

CHAPTER H. 
INVENTION AND DISCOVERY: THE RENAISSANCE. 

We have glanced at the new Hfe of Europe in its political mani- 
festations. We have now to view this new hfe in other relations : 
we have to inquire how it acted as a stimulus to intellectual effort 
in different directions. 

The term Renaissance is frequently applied at present not only to the " new 
birth " of art and letters, but to all the characteristics, taken together, of the 
period of transition from the Middle Ages to modern life. The transformation 
in the structure and policy of states, the passion for discovery, the dawn of a 
more scientific method of observing man and nature, the movement towards 
more freedom of intellect and of conscience, are part and parcel of one com- 
prehensive change, — a change which even now has not reached its goal. It 
was not so much " the arts and the inventions, the knowledge and the books, 
which suddenly became vital at the time of the Renaissance," that created 
the new epoch: it was "the intellectual energy, the spontaneous outburst of 
intelligence, which enabled mankind at that moment to make use of them." 

Inventions : Gunpowder. — In the fourteenth and fifteenth cen- 
turies, there were brought into practical use several inventions 
most important in their results to civilization. Of these the prin- 
, cipal were giinpotvdei', the mariner'' s coinpass, and printing by 
movable types. Gicnpowder was not first made by Schwartz, a 
monk of JFreiburg, as has often been asserted. We have notices, 
more or less obscure, of the use of an explosive material re- 
sembling it, among the Chinese, among the Indians in the East 
as early as Alexander the Great, and among the Arabs. It was 
first brought into use in fire-arms in the middle of the fourteenth 
century. The efiect was to make infantry an effective force, and 
to equalize combatants, since a peasant could handle a gun as well 
as a knight. Another consequence has been to mitigate the bru- 
talizing influence of war on the soldiery, by making it less a hand- 
to-hand encounter, an encounter with swords and spears, attended 
with bloodshed, and kindhng personal animosity; and by rendering 
it possible to hold in custody large numbers of captives, whose 
lives, therefore, can be spared. 

The Compass. — The properties of the magnetic needle were 
not first applied to navigation, as has been thought, by Flavio 
Giflja, but long before his time, as early as the twelfth century, 
the compass came into general use. Navigation was no longer 
confined to the Mediterranean and to maritime coasts. The 
sailor could push out into the ocean without losing himself on 
its boundless waste. 

Printing. — Printing, which had been done to some extent by 
wooden blocks, was probably first done with movable types (about 
1450) hy John Gutenberg, who was born at Mentz, but who lived 



388 MODERN HISTORY. 

long at Strasburg. He was furnished with capital by an asso- 
ciate, Faust, and worked in company with a skillful copyist of 
manuscripts, Schoffer. Guteitberg brought the art to such per- 
fection, that in 1456 a complete Latin Bible was printed. Within 
a short time, printing-presses were set up in all the principal cities 
of Germany and Italy. As an essential concomitant, Imen and 
cotton paper came into vogue in the room of the costly parch- 
ment. Books were no longer confined to the rich. Despite the 
censorship of the press, thought traveled from city to city and 
from land to land. It was a sign of a new era, that Alaximilian 
in Germany and Louis XI. in France founded a postal system. 

New Route to India. — The discovery by the Portuguese of 
the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira (1419-1420), of the Ca- 
nary Islands and of the Azores, was followed by their discovery of 
the coast of Upper Guinea, with its gold-dust, ivory, and gums 
(1445). The Pope, to whom was accorded the right to dispose 
of the heathen and of newly discovered lands, granted to the Por- 
tuguese the possession of these regions, and of whatever discoveries 
they should make as far as India. From Lower Guinea {Congo), 
Bartholomew Diaz reached the southern point of Africa (i486), 
which King John II. named the Cape of Good Hope. Then, 
\xxvditx Emanuel the Great (1495-15 21), Vasco da Gama found 
the way to East India, round the Cape, by sailing over the Indian 
Ocean to the coast of Malabar, and into the harbor of Calicut 
(1498). The Portuguese encountered the resistance of the Mo- 
hammedans to their settlement ; but by their valor and persistency, 
especially by the agency of their leaders Almeida and the brave 
Albuquerque, their trading-posts were established on the coast. 

Discovery of America. — The grand achievement in maritime 
exploration in this age was the discovery of America by Christo- 
pher Columbus, a native of Genoa. The conviction that India 
could be reached by sailing in a westerly direction took possession 
of his mind. Having sought in vain for the patronage of John II. 
of Portugal, and having sent his brother Bartholomew to apply for 
aid from Ilenry VII. of England, he was at length furnished with 
three ships by Queen Isabella of Castile, to whom Granada had 
Just submitted (1492). Columbus was to have the station of 
grand admiral and viceroy over the lands to be discovered, with 
a tenth part of the incomes to be drawn from them, and the rank 
of a nobleman for himself and his posterity. The story gf an 
open mutiny on his vessels does not rest on sufficient proof : that 
there were alarm and discontent among the sailors, may well be 
believed. On the nth of October, Columbus thought that he 
discovered a light in the distance. At two o'clock in the morning 
of Oct. 12, a sailor on the Pinta espied the dim outline of the 
beach, and shouted, " Land, land ! " It was an island called 



VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY. 389 

Guanahani^ named by Columbus, in honor of Jesus, Sa7i Salva- 
dor. Its beauty and productiveness excited admiration ; but 
neither here nor on the large islands of Cuba (or Jnand) and 
Ifayt i {Hisp a nio la), \vh\c\\ were discovered soon after, were there 
found the gold and precious stones which the navigators and their 
patrons at home so eagerly desired. Columbus built a fort on the 
island of Hispaniola, and founded a colony. The name of West 
hidies was applied to the new lands. Columbus lived and died in 
the belief that the region which he discovered belonged to India. 
Of an intermediate continent, and of an ocean beyond it, he did 
not dream. The Pope granted to Ferdinand dXvA Isabella all the 
newly discovered regions of America, from a line stretching one 
hundred leagues west of the Azores. Afterwards Ferdinand al- 
lowed to the king of Portugal that the line should run three hundred 
and seventy, instead of one hundred, leagues west of these islands. 
In two subsequent voyages (1493-1496, 1498-1500), Columbus 
discovered y<3;wa/(:fl! and the Little Antilles, the Caribbean Islands, 
and finally the mainland at the mouths of the Orinoco (1498). 
In 1497 John Cabot, a Venetian captain living in England, while 
in quest of a north-west passage to India, touched at Cape Breton, 
and followed the coast of North America southward for a distance 
of nine hundred miles. Shortly after, Amerigo Vespucci, a Floren- 
tine, employed first by Spain and then by Portugal, explored in 
several voyages the coast of South America. The circumstance 
that his full descriptions were published (1504) caused the name 
of America, first at the suggestion of the printer, to be attached to 
the new world. 

Later Voyages of Columbus. — On his return from his first 
voyage, Columbus was received with distinguished honors by the 
Spanish sovereigns. But he suffered from plots caused by envy, 
both on the islands and at court. Once he was sent home in fetters 
by Bobadilla, a commissioner appointed by Ferdinand. He was 
exonerated from blame, but the promises which had been made 
to him were not fulfilled. A fourth voyage was not attended by 
the success in discovery which he had hoped for, and the last two 
years of his life were weary and sad. Isabella had died ; and in 
1506 the great explorer, who with all his other virtues combined 
a sincere piety, followed her to the tomb. 

The Pacific. — The spirit of adventure, the hunger for wealth 
and especially for the precious metals, and zeal for the conversion 
of the heathen, were the motives which combined in different pro- 
portions to set on foot exploring and conquering expeditions to 
the unknown regions of the West. The exploration of the North- 
American coast, begun hy John Cabot (perhaps also by his son), 
and the Portuguese Cortereal {ic^oi), continued from Labrador to 
Florida. In 15 13 Balboa, a Spaniard at Darien, fought his way 



390 MODERN HISTORY. 

to a height on the Isthmus of Fana?jia, whence he descried the 
Pacific Ocean. Descending to the shore, and riding into the water 
up to his thighs, in the name of the king he took possession of 
the sea. In 1520 Magellan, a Portuguese captain, sailed round the 
southern cape of America, and over the ocean to which he gave 
the name of Pacific. He made his way to the East Indies, but 
was killed on one of the Philippine Islands, leaving it to his com- 
panions to finish the voyage around the globe. A little later the 
Spaniards added first Mexico, and then Peru, to their dominions. 

Conquest of Mexico. — The Spanish conqueror of Mexico, the 
land of the Aztecs, was Hej'uando Cortes (1485-1547). The 
principal king in that country was Montezuma, whose empire was 
extensive, with numerous cities, and with no inconsiderable ad- 
vancement in arts and industry. From Santiago, in 15 19, Cortes 
conducted an expedition composed of seven hundred Spaniards, 
founded Vera Cruz, where he left a small garrison, subdued the 
tribe of Tlascalans who joined him, and was received by Monte- 
zuma into the city of Mexico. Cortes made him a prisoner in 
his own palace, and seized his capital. The fire-arms and the 
horses of the Spaniards struck the natives with dismay. Never- 
theless, they made a stout resistance. To add to the difficulties 
of the shrewd and valiant leader, a Spanish force was sent from 
the West Indies, under Narvaez, to supplant him. This force he 
defeated, and captured their chief. In 1520 Cortes gained over 
the Mexicans, at Otuniba, a victory which was decisive in its 
consequences. The city of Mexico was recaptured ( 1 5 2 1 ) ; for 
Montezuma had been slain by his own people, and the Spaniards 
driven out. Guatimozin, the new king, was taken prisoner and 
put to death, and the country was subdued. Cortes put an end to 
the horrid religious rites of the Mexicans, which included human 
sacrifices. Becoming an object of jealousy and dread at home, 
he was recalled (1528). Afterwards he visited the peninsula of 
Califior7iia, and ruled for a time in Mexico, but with diminished 
authority. 

Conquest of Peru. — The conquest of Peru was effected by 
Francisco Pizarro, and Almagro, both illiterate adventurers, equally 
daring with Cortes, but more cruel and unscrupulous. The Peru- 
vians were of a mild character, prosperous, and not uncivilized, 
and without the savage religious system of the Mexicans. They 
had their walled cities and their spacious temples. The empire 
of the Incas, as the rulers were called, was distracted by a civil 
war between two brothers, who shared the kingdom. Pizarro 
captured one of them, Atahualpa, and basely put him to death 
after he had provided the ransom agreed upon, amounting to more 
than ^17,500,000 in gold (1533). Pizari'o founded Lima, near 
the sea-coast (1535). Almagro and Pizarro fell out with each 



REVIVAL OF LEARNING. 39I 

Other, and the former was defeated and beheaded. The land and 
its inhabitants were allotted among the conquerors as the spoils of 
victory. The horrible oppression of the people excited insurrec- 
tions. At length Charles V. sent out Pedro de la Gasca as viceroy 
(1541), at a time when Gonzalo Pizarro, the last of the family, 
held sway. Gonzalo perished on the gallows. Gasca reduced 
the government to an orderly system. 

The Amazon. — Orellena, an officer of Pizarro, in 1541 first 
descended the river Amazon to the Atlantic. His fabulous de- 
scriptions of an imaginary El Dorado, whose capital with its 
dazzling treasures he pretended to have seen, inflamed other 
explorers, and prompted to new enterprises. The cupidity of the 
Spaniards, and their eagerness for knightly warfare, made the New 
World, with its floral beauty and mineral riches, a most enticing 
field for adventure. To devout missionaries, to the monastic 
orders especially, the new regions were not less inviting. They 
followed in the wake of the Spanish conquerors and viceroys. 

Revival of Learning. — The stirring period of invention and 
of maritime discovery was also the period of " the revival of learn- 
ing." Italy was the main center and source of this intellectual 
movement, which gradually spread over the other countries of 
Western Europe. There was a thirst for a wider range of study 
and' of culture than the predominantly theological writings and 
training of the Middle Ages afforded. The minds of men turned 
for stimulus and nutriment to the ancient classical authors. Pe- 
trarch, the Italian poet (1304-13 74), did much to foster this new 
spirit. In the fifteenth century the more active intercourse with 
the Greek Church, and the efforts at union with it, helped to bring 
into Italy learned Greeks, like Chrysoloras and Bessarion, and 
numerous manuscripts of Greek authors. The fall of Constanti- 
nople increased this influx of Greek learning. The new studies 
were fostered by the Italian princes, who vied with one another in 
their zeal for collecting the precious literary treasures of antiquity, 
and in the liberal patronage of the students of classical literature. 
The manuscripts of the Latin writers, preserved in the monasteries 
of the West, were likewise eagerly sought for. The most eminent 
of the patrons of learning were the Medici of Florence. Cosmo 
founded a library and a Platonic academy. All the writings of 
Plato were translated by one of that philosopher's admiring dis- 
ciples, Marsilius Ficiniis. Dictionaries and grammars, versions 
and commentaries, for instruction in classical learning, were multi- 
plied. These, with the ancient poets, philosophers, and orators 
themselves, were diffused far and wide by means of the new art of 
printing, and from presses, of which the Aldine — that of Aldus 
Minutius — at Venice was the most famous. "By the side of the 
Church, which had hitherto held the countries of the West together 



392 MODERN HISTORY. 

(though it was unable to do so much longer) there arose a new 
spiritual influence, which, spreading itself abroad from Italy, be- 
came the breath of life for all the more instructed minds in 
Europe." 

Contest of the New and the Old Culture. — In Germany, the 
new learning gained a firm foothold. But there, as elsewhere, 
the Humanists, as its devotees were called, had a battle to fight 
with the votaries of the mediseval type of culture, who, largely on 
theological grounds, objected to the new culture, and were stig- 
matized as " obscurantists." In Italy, the study of the ancient 
heathen writers had engendered, or at least been accompanied 
by, much religious skepticism and indifference. This, however, was 
not the case in Germany. But the champions of the scholastic 
method and system, in which logic and divinity, as handled by 
the schoolmen, were the principal thing, were strenuously averse 
to the linguistic and literary studies which threatened to supplant 
them. The advocates of the new studies derided the lack of learn- 
ing, the barbarous style, and fine-spun distinctions of the school- 
men, who had once been the intellectual masters. The disciples 
of Aristotle and of the schoolmen still had a strong hold in Paris, 
Cologne, and other universities. But certain universities, like 
Tubingen and Heidelberg, let in the humanistic studies. In 1502 
Frederick, the elector of Saxony, founded a university at Witten- 
berg, in which from the outset they were prominent. In England, 
the cause of learning found ardent encouragement, and had able 
representatives in such men as Colet, dean of St. Paul's, who 
founded St. Paul's School at his own expense ; and in Thomas 
More, the author of Utopia, afterwards lord chancelor under 
Henry VHI. 

Reuohlin : Ulrioh von Hutten, — A leader of humanism in 
Germany was John Reuchlin (1455-1522), an erudite scholar, 
who studied Greek at Paris and Basel, mingled with Politian, 
Pico de Mirandola, and other famous scholars at Florence, and 
wrote a Hebrew as well as a Greek grammar. This distinguished 
humanist became involved in a controversy with the Dominicans 
of Cologne, who wished to burn all the Hebrew literature except 
the Old Testament. The Humanists all rallied in support of 
their chief, to whom heresy was imputed, and their success in 
this wide-spread conflict helped forward their cause. Ulrich von 
Hutten, one of the young knights who belonged to the literary 
school, and others of the same class, made effective use, against 
their illiterate antagonists, of the weapons of satire and ridicule. 

Erasmus. — The prince of the Humanists was Desiderius Eras- 
mus (14 67-1 5 36). No hterary man has ever enjoyed a wider 
fame during his own hfetime. He was not less resplendent for his 
wit than for his learning. Latin was then the vehicle of intercourse 



REVIVAL OF LEARNING. 393 

among the educated. In that tongue the books of Erasmus were 
written, and they were eagerly read in all the civilized countries. 
He studied theology in Paris ; lived for a number of years in 
England, where, in company with More and Colet, he fostered the 
new studies ; and finally took up his abode at Basel In early 
youth, against his will, he had been for a while an inmate of a 
cloister. The idleness, ignorance, self-indulgence, and artificial 
austerities, which frequently belonged to the degenerate monasti- 
cism of the day, furnished him with engaging themes of satire. 
But in his Praise of Folly, and in his Colloquies, the two most 
diverting of his productions, he lashes the foibles and sins of many 
other classes, among whom kings and popes are not spared. By 
such works as his editions of the Church Fathers, and his edition 
of the Greek Testament, as well as by his multifarious correspond- 
ence, he exerted a powerful influence in behalf of culture. If he 
incurred the hostility of the conservative Churchmen, he still ad- 
hered to the Roman communion, and won unbounded applause 
from the advocates of liberal studies and of practical religious 
reforms. 

Literature in Italy. — The first effect of the revival of letters 
in Italy was to check original production in Uteratur-e. The charm 
of the ancient authors who were brought out of their tombs, the 
belles-lettres studies, and the criticism awakened by them, natur- 
ally had this effect for a time. Italy had two great authors in the 
vernacular, the poet Ariosto (1474-1533), and Machiavelli : it 
had, besides, one famous historian, Guicciaj-dini (148 2-1 540). 

Renaissance of Art. — This period was not simply an era of 
grand exploration and discovery, and of the new birth of letters : 
it was the brilliant dawn of a new era in art. Sculpture and paint- 
ing broke loose from their subordination to Church architecture. 
Painting, especially, attained to a far richer development. 

Architecture and Sculpture. — In architecture and sculpture, the 
influence of the antique styles was potent. Under the auspices of Brunel- 
leschi (1377-1446), the Pitti Palace and other edifices of a like kind had been 
erected aX Florence. At Rojne, Bramatite (who died in 151 5), and, in par- 
ticular, Michael Angela (1475-1564), who was a master in the three arts of 
painting, sculpture, and architecture, and a poet as well, were most influ- 
ential. The great Florentine artist Ghiberti (1378-145 5), in the bronze gates 
of the Baptistery, exhibited the perfection of bas-relief. The highest power 
of Michael Angela, as a sculptor, is seen in his statue cf Moses at Rome, 
and in the sepulchers of Julian and Lorenzo de Medici at Florence. A 
student of his works, Cellini (i 500-1 571) is one of the men of genius of that 
day, who, like his master, was eminently successful in different branches 
of art. In the same period, there were sculptors of high talent in Germany, 
especially at Nuremberg, where Adam Kraft (1429-1507), uw^}, Peter Vischer 
(1435-1529), whose skill is seen in the bronze tomb of Sehaldus, in the church 
of that saint, are the most eminent. After the death of Michael Angela, in 
Italy theie was a decline in the style of sculpture, which became less noble 
and more affected. 



394 MODERN HISTORY. 

Painting in Italy. — The ancients had less influence on the schools of 
painting than on sculpture. In painting, as we have seen (p. 30S), Giotto 
( 1 266-1 337), a contemporary of the poet Daitte, and Cimahiie (who died 
about 1302), had led the way. The art of perspective was mastered; and 
real life, more or less idealized, was the subject of delineation. In Italy, 
there arose various distinct styles or schools. The Florentine school reached 
its height of attainment in the majestic works of Michael Angela, the frescos 
of the Sistine Chapel at Rome. The Roman school is best seen in the 
stanzas of the Vatican, by Raphael (1483-1520), and in the ideal harmony and 
beauty of his Madonnas. Prior to Michael Angelo and Raphael, there was 
the symbolic religious art of the Umbrian painters. Of these, the chief 
wdisFra Angelica (1387-1455), the devout monk who transferred to the canvas 
the tenderness and fervor of his own gentle spirit. The Venetian school, with 
its richness of color, has left splendid examples of its powerin the portraits 
of Titian (1477-1576), the works of Paul Veronese (who died in 1588), and the 
more passionate products of the pencil of Tintoretto (who died in 1594). The 
Lombard school has for its representatives the older contemporary of Raphael, 
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-15 19), who combines perfection of outward form with 
deep spirituality, and by whom The Last Stepper was painted on the wall of the 
cloister at Milan ; and Correggio (1494-1534), whose play of tender sensibility, 
and skill in the contrasts of light and shade in color, are exhibited in The 
Night, or Worship of the Magi (at Dresden), and in his frescos at Parma. The 
school of Bologna, founded by the three Caracci, numbers in its ranks Guide 
Reni (1575-1642), gifted with imagination and sensibility, and Salvator Rosa 
(161 5-1673), who depicted the more wild and somber aspects of nature and 
of life. 

Michael Angelo and Raphael. — The two foremost names in the 
history of Italian art are Michael Angelo and Raphael. " If there is one man 
who is a more striking representative of the Renaissance than any of his 
contemporaries, it is Michael Angelo. In him character is on a par with 
genius. His life of almost a century, and marvelously active, is spotless. 
As an artist, we can not believe that he can be surpassed. He unites in his 
wondrous individuality the two master faculties, which are, so to speak, the 
poles of human nature, whose combination in the same individual creates 
the sovereign greatness of the Tuscan school, — invention and judgment, — a 
vast and fiery imagination, directed by a method precise, firm, and safe." 
Raphael lacks the grandeur and the many-sided capacity of the great master 
by whom he was much influenced. Raphael " had a nature which converted 
every thing to beauty." He produced in a short life an astonishing number 
of works of unequal merit; but to all of them he imparted a peculiar charm, 
derived from " an instinct for beauty, which was his true genius." 

Painting in the Netherlands. — In the Netherlands, a school of paint- 
ing arose under the brothers Van Eyck (i 366-1 426, 13S6-1440). One of 
them, John, was the first artist to paint in oil. At a later day, a class of 
painters, of whom Rubens (1577-1640) is the most distinguished, followed 
more the track of the ancients and of the Italian school. These belonged 
to Flanders and Brabant ; while in Holland a school sprang up of a more 
original and independent cast, in which genius of the highest order was 
manifested in the person of Rembrandt (1607-1669), its most emment master. 

Painting in Germany and France. — In Germany, a school marked 
by peculiarities of its own was represented by Hans Holbein (who died in 
1543), and by Albert Diirer the Nuremberg artist (1471-1528). In Spain, 
Mnrillo (1617-1682) combined inspiration with technical skill, and stands on 
a level with vlie '-enowned Italians. Velasquez (i 599-1 660), an artist of ex- 
traordinary power, is most distinguished for his portraits. The French artists 
mostly followed the Italian styles. Claude Lorraine (1600-16S2) was the 
painter of landscapes that are" luminous in sunlight and atmosphere. In 
England, the humorous Hogarth (i 697-1 764) was much later. 



REVIVAL OF LEARNING. 395 

Music. — Music shared in the prosperity of the sister arts. The interest 
awakened in its improvement paved the way in Italy for Palestrina (1514- 
1594), whose genius and labors constitute an epoch. In Ge7-many, Luther 
became one of the most efficient promoters of musical culture in connection 
with public worship. The great German composers, Bach (i 685-1 750) and 
Handel (1685-1759), belong to a subsequent period: they are, however, in 
some degree the fruit of seed sown earlier. 

Literature. — For works on general history, see p. i5. For general histories of particular 
countries, see p. 359. 

On Modern Times. Dyer's History of Modern Europe ; Duruy's History of Modern 
Times [1453-1789]; Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire Generate, V (A. IV.; Tlie Cambridge 
Modern History^ Vol. I.: The Renaissance ; Heeren, Political System of Europe; His- 
torical Treatises (i vol.); Heeren u. Ukert, Geschichte der europ'disch. Staaten (76 vols. 
1829-75); ^. ks.^o\M's Lectures on Modern History ; Michelet's Modern History {z\o\.), 
Yonge's Three Centuries of Modern History. 

On the Age of the Renaissance. Syraonds's Renaissance in Italy (5 vols.) ; Burckhardt's 
The Civilization of the Period of the Renaissance in Italy (2 vols.); Reumont's Lorenzo 
de' Medici (2 vols ) ; Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de' Medici ; Villari's Machiazielli and his 
Times; '%la.ch\av&\\\. History of Floroice ; OMphanl, Blakers of Floretice : Dante, Giotto, 
Savonarola, and their city (,1 vol.); Voigt, Die Wiederbelebimg des classischen alter- 
thnms (1859) ; Lanzi, History of Pai7iting (3 vols.) ; Vasari, Lives of Painters, Sculptors, 
and Architects ; Crowe and Cavalcasselle. History of Paintitig in North Italy [1300-1500] 
(2 vols., 1871); Crowe, Handbook of Painting : the Germaji, Flemish, and Dutch Schools 
(2 parts, 1874); Eastlake, Handbook of Painting, the Italian Schools (based on Kugler, 
2 parts, 1874); Crowe and Cavalcasselle, Life of Titian (2 vols.); Illustrated Biographies 
of the Great Artists (14 vols.); Mrs. Jameson, Lives of Italian Paititers; Grimm, 
Life of Michael Angelo (2 vols.); Crowe and Cavalcasselle, Life and Works of Raphael ; 
Yergusson, History of Moderti Styles of Architecture ; Ruge's Geschichte d. Zeiialters d. 
Entdeckungen (i vol. in Oncken's Series); Geiger's Renaissance und Htcmanismus in 
Italien und Deutschland ( i vol. in Oncken's Series); Lives of Erasmus, by Le Clerc, Jortin, 
Knight, Burigny (2 vols.), Froude, Emerton, Drummond (2 vols); Lives of Columbus, by 
Irving, Major (1847), Harrisse (1884), Markham (18921, Winsor; Prescott's History of 
Ferdinand atid Isabella, History of the Coftquest of Mexico, and History of the Conquest 
of Peru ; 'R.ohtrt.son, History of America ; 'Be.a.zXy, Da7V}i of Modern Geograpliy W^o\%.)\ 
Fiske, Discovery of America (2 vols.); Payne, Ainerica (2 vols.); Seebohm's Oxford 
Reformers ; Robinson and Rolfe, Petrarch ; Creighton, History of the Papacy during 
the Reformation (Vols. I. -IV.) ; Pastor, History of the Popes f>-om the Close of the Middle 
Ages (3 vols.); Jans.sen, History of the Gerjnan People at the Close of the Middle Ages 
(8 vols.); Whitcomb, Source Books of the Italian and German Renaissance ; Grant, The 
French Monarchy (,2 vols.); Johnson, European History in the Sixteenth Cejttury. 



Period II. 
THE ERA OF THE REFORMATION. 

(.1517-1648,) 



INTRODUCTION. 

The general stir in men's minds, as indicated in the revival 
of learning and in remarkable inventions and discoveries, was 
equally manifest in great debates and changes in religion. One 
important element and fruit of the Renaissance is here seen. At 
the beginning of the sixteenth century, the nations of Western 
Europe were all united in one Church, of which the Pope was the 
acknowledged head. There were differences as to the extent of 
his proper authority ; sects had sprung up at different times ; and 
there had arisen leaders, like Wickliffe and Huss, at war with the 
prevailing system. Ecclesiastical sedition, however, had been 
mostly quelled. Yet there existed a great amount of outspoken 
and latent discontent. First, complaints were loud against mal- 
administration in Church affairs. There were extortions and other 
abuses that excited disaffection. Secondly, the authority exercised 
by the Pope was charged with being inconsistent with the rights of 
civil rulers and of national churches. Thirdly, disputes sprang up, 
both in regard to various practices deemed objectionable, like 
prayers for the dead, and the invocation of saints, and also con- 
cerning important doctrines, like the doctrine of the mass or the 
Lord's Supper, and the part that belongs to faith in the Christian 
method of salvation. Out of this ferment arose what is called the 
Protestant Reformation. The Teutonic nations generally broke off 
from the Church of Rome, and renounced their allegiance to the 
Pope. The Latin or Romanic nations, for the most part, still 
adhered to him. As the common idea was that there should be 
uniformity of belief and worship in a state, civil wars arose on 
the question which form of belief should dominate. Germany 
was desolated for thirty years by a terrible struggle. Yet, in all the 
conflicts between kingdoms and states in this period, it was plain 
that political motives, or the desire of national aggrandizement, 
were commonly strong enough to override religious differences. 
396 



THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY. 39/ 

When there was some great interest of a political or dynastic sort 
at stake, those that differed in religion most widely would frequently 
assist one another. It is in this period that we see Spain, under 
Charles V. and Philip II., reach the acme of its power, and then 
sink into comparative weakness. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY, TO THE TREATY OP 
NUREMBERG (1517-1532). 

Beginning of the Reformation. — The Reformation began in 
Germany, where there was a great deal of discontent with the way 
in which the Church was governed an 1 managed, and on account 
of the large amounts of money carried out of the country on various 
grounds for ecclesiastical uses at Rome. The leader of the move- 
ment, Martin Luther, was the son o^ a poor miner, and was born 
at Eisleben in 1483. He v/as an Augu^tuiian monk, and had been 
made professor of theology, and preacher at Wittenberg, by the 
Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise (1508). Luther was a 
man of extraordinary i-^tellectual powers, and a hard student, of a 
genial and joyous nature, yet not without a deep vein of reflection, 
tending even to melancholy. He had a strong will, and was vigor- 
ous and vehement in controversy. He had been afflicted with 
profound religious anxieties ; but in the study of St. Paul and 
St. Augustine, and after much inward wrestling, he emerged from 
them into a state of mental peace. The immediate occasion of 
disturbance, the spark that kindled the flame, was the sale of in- 
dulgences in Saxony by a Dominican monk named Tetzel. Indul- 
gences were the remission, total or partial, of penances, and, in 
theory, always presupposed repentance ; but, as the business was 
managed in Germany at that time, it amounted in the popular 
apprehension to a sale of absolution from guilt, or to the ransom 
of deceased friends from purgatory for money. These gross abuses 
were painful to sincere friends of religion. In 1 5 1 7 Luther posted 
on the door of the church at Wittenberg his celebrated ninety-five 
theses. It was customary in those days for public debates to take 
place in universities, where, as in jousts and tournaments among 
knights, scholars offered to defend propositions in theology and 
philosophy against all comers. Such were the " theses " of Luther 
on indulgences. The public mind was in such a state that a great 
commotion was kindled by them. Conflict spread ; and the name 
of Luther became famous as a stanch antagonist of ecclesiastical 
abuses, and a fearless champion of reform. The Elector, a religious 



398 MODERN HISTORY. 

man, calm and cautious in his temper, was friendly to Luther, 
often sought to curb him, but stretched over him the shield of his 
protection. 

Luther and Leo X. — Pope Leo X. was of the house of Medici, 
the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He had been made nomi- 
nally a cardinal at the age of thirteen, and had advanced to the 
highest station in the Church. _ He was much absorbed in matters 
pertaining to learning and art, and in political affairs, and at first 
looked upon this Saxon disturbance as a mere squabble of monks. 
He attempted ineffectflally to bring Luther to submission and 
quietness, first through his legate Cajetan, a scholarly Italian, who 
met him at Augsburg (151'^), and then by a second messenger, 
Miltitz (15 19), a Saxon- by birth. A turning-point in Luther's 
course was a public disputation at Leipsic, before Duke George ; 
for ducal Saxony was hostile to him. With Luther, on that occa- 
sion, was Philip Melanchthon, the young professor of Greek at 
Wittenberg, who was a great scholar, and a man of mild and 
amiable spirit. He became a very effective and noted auxiliary 
of the reformer, and acquired the honorary title of "preceptor of 
Germany." In the Leipsic debate, when Luther was opposed by 
the Catholic champion Eck, and by others, his own views in oppo- 
sition to the papacy became more distinct and decided. He soon 
disputed the right of the Pope to make laws, to canonize, etc., 
denied the doctrine of purgatory, and avowed his sympathy with 
Huss. He issued a stirring Address to the Christian Nobles of the 
German Nation. In 1520 he was excommunicated by the Pope, 
but the elector paid no regard to the papal bull. Luther himself 
went so far as publicly to burn it at the gates of the town, in 
the presence of an assembly of students and others gathered to 
witness the scene. Both parties had now taken the extreme 
step : there was now open war between them. Jurists, who were 
aggrieved by the interference of ecclesiastical with civil courts, 
supported Luther. Sc the Humanists who had defended Reuch- 
lin, among whom were the youthful literary class of which Ulrich 
von Hutten was one, became his allies. Many among the inferior 
clergy and the monastic orders sympathized with him. 

Condition of Germany. — It was now for the Empire to decide 
between Luther and the Pope. The efforts to create a better politi- 
cal system under Maximilian had proved in the main abortive. 
There was strife between the princes and the knights, as well as 
between princes and bishops. The cities complained bitterly of 
oppressive taxation and of lawless depredations. There was wide- 
spread disaffection, threatening open revolt, among the peasants. 
Maximilian had been thwarted politically by the popes. At first 
he was glad to hear of Luther's rebellion. He said to Frederick 
the Wise, "Let the Wittenberg monk be taken good care of: we 



THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY. 399 

may some day want him." In the latter part of his reign his 
interests drew him nearer to Rome. 

Election of CharlesV. — On the death oi Maximilian (15 19), 
as the Elector Frederick would not take the imperial crown, there 
were two rival candidates, — Francis /., the king of France, and 
Charles I. of Spain, the grandson of Maximilian. Francis was 
a gallant and showy personage, but it was feared that he would be 
despotic ; and the electors made choice of Charles. The extent 
of Charles'' s hereditary dominions in Germany, and the greatness 
of his power, would make him, it was thought, the best defender of 
the empire against the Turks. The dectors, at his choice, bound 
him in a " capitulation " to respect the authority of the Diet, and 
not to bring foreign troops into the country. Charles was the 
inheritor of Austria and the Low Countries, the crowns of Castile 
and Aragon, of Navarre, of Naples and Sicily, together with the 
territories of Spain in the New World ; and now he was at the head 
of the Holy Roman Empire. The concentration of so much power 
in a single hand could not but provoke alarm in all other poten- 
tates. The great rival of Charles was Francis I., and the main 
prize in the contest was dominion in Italy. Charles was a saga- 
cious prince ; from his Spanish education, strongly attached to the 
Roman-Catholic system, and, in virtue of the imperial office, the 
protector of the Church. Yet with him political considerations, 
during most of his life, were uppermost. He made the mistake 
of not appreciating the strength that lay in the convictions at the 
root of the Protestant movement. He over-estimated the power 
of political combinations. 

Diet of Worms. — Charles V. first came into Germany in 15 21, 
and met the Diet of the empire at IVorms. There Luther appeared 
under the protection of a safe-conduct. He manifested his wonted 
courage ; and in the presence of the emperor, and of the august 
assembly, he refused to retract his opinions, planting himself on 
the authority of the Scriptures, and declining to submit to the 
verdicts of Pope or council. After he had left Worms, a sentence 
of outlawry was passed against him. Charles at that moment was 
bent on the re-conquest of Milan, which the French had taken ; 
and the Pope was friendly to his undertaking, although Leo X. had 
been opposed to Charles's election. 

Francis I. — Francis /. (15 15-1547) aimed to complete the 
work begun by his predecessors, and to make the French mon- 
archy absolute. By a concordat \N\\kv the Pope (15 16), the choice 
of bishops and abbots was given into the king's hand, while the 
Pope was to receive the annates, or the first year's revenue of all 
such benefices. Francis continued the practice of selling judi- 
cial places begun under Louis XII. He was bent on maintaining 
the unity of France, and, as a condition, the Catholic system. 



400 MODERN HISTORY. 

But he was always ready to help the Protestants in Germany when 
he could thereby weaken Charles. For the same end, he was even 
ready to join hands with the Turk. 

Rivalry of Charles and Francis. — Charles claimed the old 
imperial territories of Milan and Genoa. He claimed, also, a 
portion of Southern France, — the duchy of Burgundy, which he 
did not allow that Louis XI. had the right to confiscate. Francis 
claimed Naples in virtue of the rights of the house of Anjoic ; 
also Spanish Navarre, ^'^c\\ Ferdinand of Aragon had seized, 
and the suzerainty oi^Manders and Artois. He had gained a 
brilliant victory over the Swiss at the battle of Marignano, in 
15 15, and reconquered Milan. He concluded a treaty of peace 
with the Swiss, — the treaty of Freiburg (15 16), which gave to 
the king, in return for a yearly pension, the liberty to levy troops 
in Switzerland. This treaty continued until the French Revolution. 

First War of Charles and Francis (1521-1526). — Hostilities 
between Francis and Charles commenced in Italy in 1521. The 
French were driven from Milan in 1522, which was again placed 
in the hands of Francesco Sforza; and the emperor was soon 
master of all Northern Italy. England and the Pope sided with 
Charles ; and on the death of Leo X., a former tutor of the 
emperor was made his successor, under the name Adrian VI. 
(1522). The most eminent and the richest man in France, next 
to the king, Charles of Bourbon, constable of the kingdom, joined 
the enemies of Francis. He complained of grievances conse- 
quent on the enmity of Louisa of Savoy, the mother of the king, 
and attempted, with the aid of the emperor and Henry VIII., to 
create a kingdom for himself in South-eastern France. But the 
national spirit in France was too strong for such a scheme of 
dismemberment and foreign conquest to succeed, and all that 
Charles gained in the end was one brave general. In the winter 
of 1524-25 Francis crossed the Alps at the head of a brilliant 
army, and recaptured Milan; but he was defeated and taken 
prisoner at Pavia, and the French army was almost destroyed. 
Charles was able to dictate terms to his captive. It was stipu- 
lated in the Peace of Madrid (1526), that Francis should renounce 
all claim to Milan, Genoa, and Naples, and to the suzerainty of 
Flanders and Artois, cede the duchy of Burgundy, and deliver his 
sons as hostages, terms which could not be fulfilled. 

Luther at the "Wartburg. — We have now to glance at the 
events in Germany during the absence of Charles V. Luther, 
although under the ban of the empire, was in no immediate peril 
while he staid in Saxo?iy. The elector, however, thought it pru- 
dent to place him in the castle of the Wartburg, where he could 
have a safe and quiet asylum. There he began his translation of 
the Bible, which, apart from its religious influence, from the 



THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY. 401 

vigor and racy quality of its style made an epoch in the literary 
history of the German people. It was a work of great labor. 
" The language used by Luther in both the Old and New Testa- 
ments did not exist before in so jDure, powerful, and genuine a 
form." While Luther was engaged in this work, a radical move- 
ment broke out at Wittenberg, of which Carlstadt, one of his 
supporters, was the principal leader. He was for carrying changes 
in worship to such an extreme, and for introducing them so ab- 
ruptly, that the greatest disorder was threatened. Against the 
wish of the elector, Luther left his retreat, and by his discourses 
and personal presence quieted the disturbance. 

Progress and Reaction. — No attempt was made to carry out 
the Worms decree. The reason was that the influential classes 
were so much in sympathy with Luther's cause. The Lmperial 
Chamber, which ruled in the emperor's absence, would do nothing 
against him. Its committee refused to carry out the decree ; and 
a list of " one hundred grievances " was sent to Pope Adrian VL., 
of which the German nation had reason to complain (1523). 
Events, however, soon occurred that were unfavorable in their 
effect on the Lutheran movement. The knights banded together 
in large numbers, under Franz von Sickingen, and tried by force of 
arms to reduce the power of the princes. Luther showed no favor 
to their plans and doings ; but, as their leaders had applauded him, 
a reaction against innovations, including changes in doctrine, was 
the natural consequence. Pope Adrian VL. was earnestly desirous 
of practical reforms j but his successor, Clement VLL. (15 23-1534), 
was of the house of Medici, and a man of the world, like Leo X. 
An alliance was made by the Catholic princes and bishops of South 
Germany at Ratisbon in 1524, to do away with certain abuses, but 
to prevent the spread of the new doctrine. 

The Peasants' "War. — In 1524 a great revolt of the peasants 
broke out, and the next year it became general. They were 
groaning under intolerable burdens of taxation, and other forms 
of oppression. They demanded liberty in church affairs, and for 
the preaching of the new doctrine, and release from feudal tyranny. 
Luther felt and said that they were wronged grievously ; but when 
they took up arms, he, and with him the great middle class which 
he led, took sides strongly against them. The revolt was put down, 
and its authors inhumanly punished. For a time the peasants had 
wonderful success. Napoleon wondered that Charles V. did not seize 
the occasion to make Germany a united empire. Then seemed to be 
a time when the princes could have been stripped of their power. 
One of the foremost leaders of the rebellion was Thomas Milnzer. 
On the defeat of the peasants, he was captured and beheaded. 

Second War between Charles and Francis (1527-1529). — In 
the Peace of Madrid, Charles and Francis had agreed to proceed 



402 • MODERN HISTORY. 

against the Turks and against the heretics. But, after the release 
of Francis, he repudiated the concessions before mentioned (p, 
400), which were made, he alleged, under coercion; and with 
Clement VII. he formed a conspiracy against the emperor. The 
Diet of Spires, in 1526, decided to leave each of the component 
parts of the empire, until the meeting of a general council, to de- 
cide for itself as to the course to be taken in the matter of religion 
and in respect to the edict of Worms. In 1527 a German army, 
largely composed of Lutherans, led by Constable Bourbo7i and 
George Frundsberg, stormed and captured Rome. The Pope made 
an alliance with Henry VIII. A French army under Lautrec ap- 
peared at Naples, but it was so weakened by a fearful pestilence 
that it was easily destroyed. The Pope concluded peace with 
Charles in 1529. The emperor promised to exterminate heresy. 
In the Peace of Cambray, Francis renounced his claims on Italy, 
Flanders, and Artois : Charles engaged for the present not to 
press his claims upon Burgundy, and set free the French princes. 

To the Peace of Nuremberg (1532). — The Diet of Spires in 
1529 reversed the policy of tacit toleration. It passed an edict 
forbidding the progress of the Reformation in the states which had 
not accepted it, and allowing in the reformed states full liberty of 
worship to the adherents of the old confession. The protest by 
the Lutheran princes and cities, against the decree of the Diet, 
gave the name of Protestants to their party. The successful 
defense of Vienna against an immense army of the Turks under 
Solitnan delivered Charles for the moment from anxiety in that 
quarter. A theological controversy between the Lutheran and the 
Swiss reformers, on the Lord's Supper, made a division of feeling 
between them. A conference of the two parties at Marburg, in 
which Luther and Melanchthon met Ztcingli and his associates, 
brought no agreement. Every thing was propitious for an effort 
at coercion ; and this was resolved upon at the Diet of Augsburg 
in 1530, where the emperor was present in person, and where 
Melanchthon presented the celebrated Protestant Confession of 
Faith. The threats against the Protestant princes induced them 
to form the League of Smalcald for mutual defense. But it 
was found impracticable to carry out the measures of repression 
against the Lutherans. Bavaria was jealous of the house of 
Hapsburg, and opposed to the plan of the emperor to make his 
brother, Ferdinand of Austria, his successor. The Ttirks under 
Soliman were threatening. France and Denmark were ready to 
help the Protestants. Accordingly the Peace of Nuratiberg was 
concluded in 1532, in which religious affairs were to be left as 
they were, and both parties were to combine against the common 
enemy of Christendom. 



THE SWISS REFORMATION. 403 



CHAPTER II. 



THE REFORMATION IN TEUTONIC COUNTRIES: SWITZER- 
LAND, DENMARK, SWEDEN, ENGLAND. 

The Swiss Reformation: Zwingli. — The founder of Protestant- 
ism in Switzerland was Ulrich ZitnnglL He was born in 1484. His 
father was the leading man in a mountain village. The son, at 
Vienna and at Basel, became a proficient in the humanist studies. 
He read the Greek authors and the Bible in the original. A curate 
first at Glariis, and then at Einsiedeln, he became pastor at Zurich. 
As early as 15 18 he preached against the sale of indulgences. He 
was a scholarly man, bluff and kindly in his ways, and an impres- 
sive orator. The Swiss were corrupted by their employment as mer- 
cenary soldiers, hired by France, by the Pope, or by the emperor. 
Of the demoralizing influence of this practice, Zwingli became 
deeply convinced ; and his exertions as a Church reformer were 
mingled with a patriotic zeal for the moral and political regenera- 
tion of Switzerland. Mainly by his influence, Zurich separated 
from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Constance, and became 
Protestant in 1524. The example of Zurich was followed by 
Berne (1528) and by Basel (1529). Zwingli agreed with Luther 
on the two main points of the sole authority of the Scriptures, and 
the dactrine of salvation by faith alone ; but on the sacrament of 
the Lord's Supper he went farther in his dissent from the Church 
of Rome. This made Luther and his followers stand aloof when 
cordial fellowship was proposed between the two parties. 

Civil Strife : Death of Zwingli. — The aim of Zwingli was to 
establish a republican constitution in the several cantons, and also 
in the confederation as a body, where the five Forest Cantons had 
an undue share of power. These adhered to the old Church. In 
Berne the oligarchic party was supplanted by the republican, re- 
forming party, — an event of decisive importance. As the irrita- 
tion increased between the Forest Cantons and the cities, the 
former entered into a league with Ferdinand of Austria, and the 
cities leaned for support on the German states in sympathy with 
their opinions. A treaty was made (1529), but each side accused 
the other of breaking it. At length war began : Berne failed to 
come to the help of Zurich. Each city wished to be the metrop- 
olis of the reformed confederation. The forces of Zurich were 
vanquished at Cappel, where Zwingli himself, who was on the field 
in the capacity of a chaplain, was slain (1531). By the peace of 
Cappel in 1531, Protestantism was not coerced, but a check was 
put upon its progress. Neither party was strong enough to subdue 
the other. 

Protestantism in Scandinavia. — In the Scandinavian countries, 
monarchical power was built up by means of the Reformation. 



404 MODERN HISTORY. 

The union ot Cahnar (1397) under Queen Afargarct, between 
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, had been a dynastic union. The 
several peoples were not united in feeling. The sovereign, more- 
over, had his power limited by a strong feudal nobility, and by a 
rich Church impatient of control. First the Church was over- 
come by means of Protestantism, and then the nobles. 

The Reformation in Depimark. — On the accession of Chris- 
tian I. of Oldenbwg (1448-1481), the duchies of Holstein and 
Schleswig became connected with Denmark in a personal union. 
His grandson, Christian II. (15 13-1523), did not rule the duchies, 
which were governed by Frederic I., who afterwards succeeded 
Christian II. as king of Denmark. Christian II. was bent on 
putting down the aristocracy, lay and clerical, but lacked the moral 
qualities necessary to success in so difficult a task. He at first 
favored Protestantism from political motives. He hoped to bring 
the Swedes into subjection by the aid of the Danes, and then to 
subdue the Danish nobility. In Sweden the nobles practically 
ruled ] and the regency .was in the hands of the Stures, who be- 
friended the common people, and were opposed by the other 
nobles and the clergy. Christian made use of these divisions, 
and of the help of German and French troops, to get possession 
of Stockholm (1520). He took the Cathohc side. But his per- 
fidy, and the massacre of eminent Swedes, — known as the Mas- 
sacre of Stockholm, — excited an inextinguishable hatred against 
Denmark. The Danish nobles feared the same sort of treatment. 
The king's attempts at reform offended them without pleasing the 
peasants, and a revolution took place which dethroned him. 
Duke Frederic of Schleswig \\3iS made king (1523) : the duchies 
and Denmark were again together. Frederic swore not to intro- 
duce the Reformation, nor to attack Catholicism. But he was an 
ardent Lutheran. The new doctrine had come into the land, and 
was spreading. The nobles, who coveted the possessions of the 
Church, espoused it. At the Diet of Odensee, in 1527, toleration was 
granted to Lutheranism. On Frederic's death, in 1533, an effort 
of the bishops to restore the exclusive domination of the old sys- 
tem of religion was defeated. Christian III. was made king ; and 
at a Diet at Copenhagen in 1536, the Reformation was legahzed, 
and the Lutheran system, with bishops or superintendents, was 
established. 

The Reformation in Sweden. — After the massacre of Stock- 
holm, Denmark was detested by the Swedes. A great political 
revolution occurred, which involved also a religious revolution. 
The author of the change, and the real founder of the Swedish 
monarchy, was Giistavus Vasa, a young Swede of noble family, 
who had been held as a captive in Copenhagen , but had escaped and 
returned to his country. He was of imposing presence, prudent 



THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 405 

yet daring, and with a natural gift of eloquence. Amid great 
dangers and sufferings, such as tradition ascribed to King Alfred 
of England, he succeeded, at the head of a force gathered to him 
in the province of Dalecarlia, in gaining the most important places 
in the country, and was proclaimed king in 1523. He was not 
deeply interested in the religious controversy, although he favored 
Lutheranism ; but he made it his steady aim to break down the 
clerical aristocracy, to weaken the nobles, and to organize a strong 
and prosperous monarchy. He proceeded carefully : but the 
peasants, who had been his warmest supporters, were strongly 
attached to the old Church ; and the opposition to his measures 
from all quarters was such that at the Diet of Westerds, in 1527, 
he took the bold step of offering to lay down the crown. At this 
Diet he had assembled representatives of the citizens and peasants, 
as well as the clergy and nobles. He proposed to pay an enor- 
mous debt which was due to Li'ibeck, by using the colossal wealth 
of the Church for this purpose, and to shake off the monopoly of 
trade which the Hanse towns enjoyed. Finding himself withstood, 
he renounced the throne. The distraction and tumults which fol- 
lowed his act of relinquishing the crown were such that a great 
party of the nobles joined him. Three days after his abdication, 
he was recalled to the throne : the clergy submitted abjectly, and 
the Church was no longer a power in the state, or possessed of 
wealth. Trade was released from its bondage to Li'ibeck and the 
other towns ; commerce was opened with foreign countries ; and a 
market was provided for iron, the main product of the country. 
The nobles were held in subjection. The Littheran doctrine 
made very rapid progress, and became dominant. 

England : Henry VIII. and Luther. — In England, as in France, 
there were earnest desires for church reform, partly aroused by 
such serious -minded humanists as Colei, More, and Erasmus. Even 
Cardinal Wolsey sympathized with this movement, and intended 
to endow colleges and bishoprics out of the confiscated wealth of 
the more useless monasteries. What might have been a slow de- 
velopment of religious thought was transformed by the requirements 
of the king's own policy. Of all the Tudor princes none had a 
more obstinate and tyrannical will than Henry VIII. The advan- 
tages derived from the effect of the civil wars, which had reduced 
the strength and numbers of the nobility, and the natural English 
jealousy, always shown, of foreign and papal supremacy, enabled 
Henry to break off the connection of England with Rome ; while, 
at the same time, he resisted Protestantism and persecuted its 
adherents. Proud of his theological acquirements, he appeared, in 
1522, as an author against Luther, in a book in defense of the 
Seven Sacraments, for which he received from the Pope the title 
of Defender of the Faith. The vituperative character of Luther's 



406 MODERN HISTORY. 

answer confirmed him in his hatred of the new doctrine. "When 
God," said the bkmt Saxon reformer, "wants a fool, he turns a 
king into a theological writer." 

The Divorce Question. — What made the breach between 
Henry VIII. and the papacy was the question of the king's di- 
vorce. He had been married in his twelfth year to Catherine of 
Aragon, the aunt of Charles V. and the widow of Henry's de- 
ceased brother Arthur (who had been married to her in 1501, 
when he was fifteen years old, and had died the next year) . A dis- 
pensation permitting the marriage of Henry had been granted by 
Vo^Q Julius II. How far Henrys passion for Anne Boleyn, whom 
he desired to wed, was at the root of his scruples respecting the 
validity of his marriage, it may not be easy to decide. His appli- 
cation to Ckment VII. for a separation reached the Pope after the 
Peace of Madrid, when there was a desire to lessen the power of 
the emperor. Cardinal Wolsey, the favorite counselor of Henry, 
who himself aspired to the papal office, was obliged to help on 
the cause of his imperious master. But whatever disposition there 
was at Rome to gratify Henry, there was no inclination to hurry 
the proceedings. There were long delays in England, whither 
a papal legate, Campeggio, had been sent to investigate and deter- 
mine the cause. In 1529 the legates decided that the case must 
be determined at Rome. This the queen had before demanded in 
vain. Aside from other objections to the divorce, Clement VII. 
was now at peace with Charles V., whom it was undesirable to 
offend. The incensed king took the matter into his own hands. 
Wolsey, having been one of the legates, was deprived of all his 
dignities : he was charged with treason, his strength melted away 
on his fall from the heights of power, and he died a broken-spirited 
man. 

Separation of England from Rome. — Henry now gave free rein 
to the spirit of opposition in Parliament to Rome. He took for 
his principal minister, who became vicegerent in ecclesiastical 
affairs, Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell, unlike Wolsey, was hostile 
to the temporal power of Rome. He made Iliomas Cranmer 
Archbishop of Canterbury, who was inclined toward Protestant 
views, but, though sincere in his beliefs, was a man of pliant tem- 
per, indisposed to resist the king's will, preferring to bow to a 
storm, and to wait for it to pass by. By Cranmer the divorce was 
decreed, but this was after the marriage with Anne Boleyn had 
taken place. Henry was excommunicated by the Pope. Acts of 
Parliament abolished the Pope's, and established the king's, su- 
premacy in the Church of England. In 1536 the cloisters were 
abolished. Their property was confiscated, and fell to a large 
extent into the hands of the nobles and the gentry. This measure 
bound them to the poHcy of the sovereign. The mitered abbots 



THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 407 

were expelled from the House of Lords, which left the preponder- 
ance of power with the lay nobles. The hierarchy bowed to the 
will of the king. 

The Two Parties. — There were two parties in England among 
the upholders of the king's supremacy. There were the Protestants 
by conviction, who were for spreading the new doctrine. This 
had already taken root and spread in the universities, and in some 
other places in the country. The new literary culture had paved 
the way for it. In the North, there were still left many Lollards, 
disciples of Wickliffe. Cromwell, Cranmer, and one of the bish- 
ops, Latimer, were prominent leaders of this party. Against them 
were the adherents of the Catholic theology, such as Gardiner, 
Tunstal of Durham, and other bishops. At first the king inclined 
towards the first of these two parties. One of his most important 
acts was the ordering of a translation of the Bible into English, a 
copy of which was to be placed in every church. But a popular 
rebelhon in 1536 was followed by a change of ecclesiastical policy. 
The Six Articles were passed, asserting the Roman CathoUc doc- 
trines, and punishing those who denied transubstantiation with 
death. The queen, Anne Boleyn, who was an adherent of the 
Protestant side, was executed on the charge of infidelity to her 
marriage vows (1536). A few years later Cromwell was sent to 
the scaffold because the king no longer approved of his pohcy and, 
seeing how unpopular he had become, used him as a scapegoat 
(1540). Lutheran bishops were thrown into the Tower : Cranmer 
alone was shielded by the king's personal favor, and by his own 
prudence. This system of a national church, of which the king, 
and not the Pope, was the head, where the doctrine was Roman 
Catholic, and the great ecclesiastical officers were appointed, like 
civil officers, by the monarch, was the creation oi Lienry VILL His 
strong will was able to keep down the conflicting parties. Despite 
his sensuality and cruelty, he was a popular sovereign. One of 
his principal crimes was the execution of Sir Thomas More for 
refusing to take the oath of supremacy because this contained an 
affirmation of the invalidity of the king's marriage with Catherine. 
More was one of the noblest men in England, a man who com- 
bined vigor with gentleness. He was willing to swear that the 
children of Anne were lawful heirs to the throne, because Parlia- 
ment, he believed, could regulate the succession ; but this did 
not satisfy the tyrannical monarch. Li the latter portion of his 
reign he grew more suspicious, willful, and cruel. 



408 MODERN HISTORY. 



CHAPTER HI. 

THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY, FROM THE PEACE OP 
NUREMBERG TO THE PEACE OF AUGSBURG (1532-1555). 

The Parties in Germany, 1532-1542. — For ten years after the 
Peace of Nuremberg, the Protestants in Germany were left unmo- 
lested. The menacing attitude oii\\Q Turks, and the occupations 
of the emperor in Italy and in other lands, rendered it impossible 
to interfere with them. Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse, a chival- 
rous Protestant prince, led the way in the armed restoration of Duke 
Ulrich of Wi'irtembei-g, who had been driven out of his dominion. 
Thus a Protestant prince was established in the heart of Southern 
Germany (1534). In Westphalia, a fanatical branch of the Ana- 
baptist sect at Minister, with whom the Lutherans did not sympa- 
thize, was broken up by the neighboring Catholic princes. The 
overthrow of the power of Li'ibeck and of the Hanseatic League 
did not check the advance of Lutheranism. It continued to make 
great progress in different directions. The SmalcaM League was 
extended. A league of the Catholic states was formed at Nurem- 
berg m 1538. During three years (1538-1541) efforts were made 
by the emperor to secure peace and union. Of these the Confer- 
ence and Diet of Ratisbon in 1541 is the most remarkable. The 
Protestants and Catholics could not agree upon statements of 
doctrine ; but the necessity of getting Protestant help against the 
Turks compelled Charles to sanction the Peace of Nuremberg, 
and to make to the Lutherans other important concessions. This 
arrangement the emperor regarded as only a temporary truce. 
Among the conquests of Protestantism after the Peace of Nurejn- 
berg, and prior to 1544, were Brandenburg and Ducal Saxony, 
whose rulers adopted the new doctrine. It was spreading in 
Austria, in Bavaria, and in other states. Duke Henry of Bruns- 
wick fell into conflict with the Smalcaldic League, and was con- 
quered, so that his principality became Protestant. Even the 
ecclesiastical elector of Cologne was taking steps towards joining 
the Protestant side. This would have given to the Lutherans a 
majority in the electoral college. The bishoprics with temporal 
power were numerous in Germany. If they were secularized, the 
old religious system would be deprived of a principal support. 

The Smalcaldic War. — Charles V. was now secretly resolved 
to coerce the Protestants in Germany, and silently made his prepa- 
rations for war. Before hostilities commenced, Luther ^\tA ( 1546) . 
The emperor concluded the Peace of Crespy, after a fourth war 
with Francis L. It was a part of the agreement, that they should 
act jointly against the heretics. But as Francis in the last two 
wars against the emperor (1536-1538, 1542-1544) had taken for 



THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY. 409 

allies the Turks under Soliman, it could not be predicted how 
long he would abide by his engagements. For the present, 
Charles was safe in this quarter. He now took pains to shut the 
eyes of the Protestant princes to their danger. The Smalcaldic 
League was over-confident of its strength. Its members were 
discordant among themselves. Of the two chief leaders, the 
elector of Saxony, yi?//;? Frederic, was a slow and unskillful gen- 
eral ; and Philip, the Landgrave of Hesse, a brave and capable 
soldier, could not take command over an elector. Above all, 
Maurice, the Duke of Saxony, was in the midst of a quarrel with 
his relative, the elector, and coveted a part of his territories. 
Maurice was an able and adroit man, a Protestant, but without 
the earnest religious convictions that belonged to the electors and 
to that generation of princes which was passing away. Maurice was 
won by the emperor, through promises of enrichment and favor, 
and pledges not to interfere with religion in his principality. 
Charles might have been prevented from bringing in foreign 
troops from the Netherlands and from Italy, but the military 
conduct of the elector was feeble and indecisive. He was de- 
feated and captured in 1547 at Miihlbe7'g, and the surrender of 
the Landgrave Philip soon followed. The Protestant cause was 
prostrate. The clever Maurice had his reward : the electoral 
office was transferred to him ; he obtained a goodly portion of 
the elector's territory. 

The Result : the Interim. — Charles was victorious, and ap- 
parently master of Germany. The country was occupied by his 
forces as far north as the Lllbe. He was engaged in the work of 
pacification and of confirming his authority. In 1548 he issued 
the Interim of Augsburg, in which concessions were made to both 
parties, which proved satisfactory to neither. Skillful as the em- 
peror was in diplomacy, he always showed weakness in dealing 
with the religious question. He proceeded to force the new 
measure on the refractory cities in the South. In the North it 
had little effect. Maurice modified it in his own dominion. 
When Charles seemed to himself to be on the eve of a complete 
triumph, he was deserted by the allies on whom he counted, — 
Rome, F7'-ance, and the princes, especially Maurice. 

Breach of Charles with Rome. — The emperor's assuming to 
regulate the affairs of religion was regarded with disfavor at Rome. 
There had been a constant call for a general council to adjust the 
religious controversies. Rome^ from fear of imperial influence, 
and for other reasons, had opposed the measure. At length, in 
1545, the famous Council of Trent assembled. The emperor 
wanted that body to begin with measures for the reformation of 
abuses. He looked for co-operation in his scheme for uniting the 
parties in Germany. But the council took another path : it began 



4IO MODERN HISTORY. 

with anathemas against the heretical doctrines. Charles found 
himself at variance with the policy of Rome, at the moment when 
he was trying to bring Germany to submission. 

Disaffection of Maurice. — The emperor's course in Germany 
produced general alarm. He separated the Netherlatids from the 
jurisdiction of the empire, but settled the succession in the govern- 
ment in the house of Hapsburg. He drove the Diet into other 
measures which looked towards the acquiring of military supremacy 
for himself in Germany, He violated his pledges respecting the 
two captive princes. Philip of Hesse, the father-in-law of Mau- 
rice, he t5-eated with great severity and indignity. Threats were 
thrown out by the counselors of Charles against the other princes, 
and even against Maurice, who complained of the treatment of 
Philip, and was sore under the load of unpopularity that rested 
on him on account of his warfare against his co-religionists, by 
whom he was considered another Judas. 

The Peace of Augsburg. — Maurice laid his plans with secrecy 
and with masterly skill. He secured the cooperation of other Ger- 
man princes. He concluded an alliance with Henry II. of France. 
He arranged with Magdeburg, which he had been besieging, to 
make it a place of refuge if there should be need of an asylum. 
When all was ready, without having excited any suspicion on the 
part of Charles, he suddenly took the field, marched southward 
with an army that increased as he advanced, crossed the Alps, and 
forced the emperor, tormented with the gout, to fly hastily from 
Innsbruck {i^^z). The captive princes were released. It was de- 
cided that Germany was not to be ruled by Spanish soldiery. The 
dream of imperial domination vanished. The Protestants were 
promised by Ferdijiand of Austria, in the name of his brother, 
toleration, and equality of rights. At the Diet of Augsburg m 1555, 
the Religious Peace was concluded. Every prince was to be allowed 
to choose between the Catholic religion and the Augsburg Con- 
fession, and the religion of the prince was to be that of the land 
over which he reigned : that is, each government was to choose the 
creed for its subjects. Ferdinand put in the " ecclesiastical reser- 
vation," which provided that if the head of an ecclesiastical state 
should become a Lutheran, he should resign his benefice. He 
also declared that the Lutheran subjects of ecclesiastical princes 
were not to be disturbed. The " reservation " was to please the 
Catholics : the additional provision was to meet the wishes of the 
Protestants. Neither stood on the same basis as the other part 
of the treaty. 

From Maurice the electoral dignity descended in the Albertine line of 
Saxon princes. The Ernestine line retained Weimar, Gotha, etc. 



THE REFORMATION IN GENEVA. 4I I 



CHAPTER IV. 

CALVINISM IN GENEVA: BEGINNING OF THE CATHOLIC 
COUNTER-REFORMATION. 

Calvin. — Second in reputation to Luther only, among the 
founders of Protestantism, vs, John Calvin. He was a Frenchman, 
born in 1509, and was consequently a child when the Saxon Ref- 
ormation began. He was keen and logical in his mental habit, 
with a great organizing capacity, naturally of a retiring temper, yet 
fearless, and endued with extraordinary intensity and firmness of 
will. A more finished scholar than Luther, he lacked his geniality 
and tenderness, and his imaginative power. Calvin first studied 
for the priesthood at Paris ; but when his father determined to 
make him a jurist, he studied law at Orleans and Bourges. Es- 
pousing the Protestant doctrines, he was obliged to fly from Paris, 
and, when still young, published his Iiistihites of the Ch7-istia7i 
Religion, in which he expounded the Protestant creed in a sys- 
tematic although fervid way. In his type of theology, he laid 
much stress on the sovereignty of God, and predestination ; and 
taught a view of the Lord's Supper not so far from that of the 
old- Church as the doctrine of Zwingli, but farther removed 
from it than was the doctrine of Luther. 

The Genevan Government. — In 1536, reluctantly yielding to 
the exhortations of Farel, a French preacher of the Protestant 
doctrine at Geneva, Calvin established himself in that city. Ge- 
neva was a fragment of the old kingdom of Burgundy. The dukes 
of Savoy claimed a temporal authority in the city, which was sub- 
ject to its bishop. The authority of the dukes was overthrown by 
a revolution, and power passed from the bishop into the hands 
of the people (1533). The change was effected with the aid of 
Berne and Freiburg. There had been two parties in Geneva, — the 
party of the '^ Confederates," who were for striking hands with the 
Swiss, and the party of the "Mamelukes," adherents of the dukes. 
The civil was followed by an ecclesiastical revolution. Protes- 
tantism, with the aid of Berne, was legally established (1535). 
Geneva was a prosperous, gay, and dissolute city. Fai'cl, a pop- 
ular orator of striking power, unsparing in denunciation, found 
the people impatient of the restraints that the new religious sys- 
tem which they had adopted laid upon them. The regulations 
as to doctrine, worship, and discipline, which Calvin and his asso- 
ciates proceeded to introduce, were so distasteful, that the preach- 
ers were expelled by the Council and by the Assembly of Citizens 
from the place. After he had been absent three years, Calvin, in 
consequence of the increase of disorder and vice, and the distrac- 
tion occasioned by contending factions, was recalled, and remained 



412 MODERN HISTORY. 

in Geneva until his death. He became the virtual lawgiver of 
the city. He framed a system of ecclesiastical and civil govern- 
ment. It was an ecclesiastical state, in which orthodoxy of belief, 
and purity of conduct, were not only inculcated by systematic 
teaching, but enforced by stringent enactments. Offenses com- 
paratively trivial were punished by strict and severe penalties. To 
the system of church discipline, stretching over the life of every 
individual, and carried out by the civil magistrates in alliance with 
the pastors, there was much opposition, which led to outbreakings 
of violent resistance. But the supporters of Calvin were rein- 
forced by numerous Protestant refugees from France. The im- 
provement of the city in morals and in public order was signal. 
In the end, Calvin, who was as firm as a rock, triumphed over 
all opposition. Geneva became a place of resort for exiles and 
students from various countries. By his writings and correspond- 
ence, Calvin's influence spread far and wide. In the affairs of 
the French Protestants, in particular, his influence was predomi- 
nant. 

Servetus. — The Reformers were not, any more than their ad- 
versaries, advocates of liberty in rehgious beliefs and professions. 
A melancholy example of the prevailing idea, that it was the duty 
of the civil authority to inflict penalties upon heresy, is the case 
of Aiichael Servetus. A Spaniard by birth, with a remarkable 
aptitude for natural science and medicine, adventurous and fickle, 
he had published books in which doctrines received by both the 
great divisions of the Church, especially the doctrine of the Trinity, 
were assailed. He escaped out of the hands of the Catholics, and 
came to Geneva. There he was tried for heresy and blasphemy, 
and was burned at the stake (1553). This was at a time when 
Calvin was in the midst of his contest with the "Libertines," the 
party actuated by hostility to him. They appear to have stood 
behind Servetus in his defiant attitude towards the Genevan au- 
thorities. 

Influence of Calvinism. — The personal influence of Calvin 
was directly exerted upon the more cultured and educated. His 
religious system has wielded a great power, not only on this class, 
but also over the common people in different countries. Calvin- 
ism was never awed by monarchical authority. Like the Church of 
Rome, it always refused to subordinate the Church and religion to 
the civil power. It numbered among its votaries many men of 
dauntless courage and of unbending fidelity to their principles. 

The Catholic Reaction. — The first eff'ectual resistance to the 
spread of Protestant opinions was made in Italy. In that country, 
there was opposition to the papacy from those who saw in it an 
instrument of political disunion, and also from some who were 
aggrieved by ecclesiastical abuses. The prevailing feeling, how- 



THE COUNTER REFORMATION. 413 

ever, was that of pride in the papacy, which, in other countries, 
was attacked as an Itahan institution. The humanist learning 
had done much to undermine behef in the old religious system. In 
the train of the new studies, came much indifference and infidelity. 
The books of the Protestant leaders, however, were widely circu- 
lated. There were not a few sincere converts to the new doctrine 
in the cities ; but they were chiefly confined to the educated class, 
and to persons in high station. It took no root among the com- 
mon people. After the time of the Medici popes, a new spirit 
of faith and devotion awoke in circles earnestly devoted to the 
papacy and to the Church. There was at Rome an " Oratory of 
Divine Love," — a group of persons who met together for mutual 
edification. In thir class were some, like Contarini, afterwards a 
cardinal, who were not wholly without sympathy with the Lutheran 
doctrine as to faith and justification ; but out of the same class 
came others who led in the great Catholic Reaction, which, while 
it aimed at a rigid reform in morals, was inflexibly hostile to all 
innovations in doctrine, and was bent on regaining for the Church 
the ground that had been lost. 

The Council of Trent: Caraffa. — The Council of Trent was 
governed in its conclusions by this Catholic reactionary and re- 
forming party. It aUowed no curtailing of the prerogatives of 
the Pope. On points of doctrine in dispute within the pale of the 
Church, it adopted formulas which the different schools might 
accept. Practical reforms, for example in respect to the educa- 
tion of the clergy, were adopted ; but dogma and teaching were to 
remain unaltered. Cardinal Caraffa, the most energetic mover 
in the Catholic reform and restoration, became Pope, under the 
name of Paul IV. (i555-i559)- 

The Order of Jesus. — The Council of Trent, by providing a 
clear definition of doctrine, cemented unity, and was the first great 
bulwark raised against Protestantism. Another means of defense, 
and of attack as well, was provided in new orders, especially the 
order of Jesuits. This was founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish 
soldier of noble birth, who mingled with the spirit of chivalry 
a strong devotional sentiment. It was the temper of mediaeval 
knighthood, which still lingered in Spain. Wounded at the siege 
of Pampelu7ia, and disabled from war, he had visions of a spiritual 
knighthood ; out of which grew the Society of Jesus, which was 
sanctioned by Pope Paul III. in 1540. Its members took the 
monastic vows. They went through a rigorous spiritual drill. They 
were bound to unquestioning obedience to the Pope. The organi- 
zation was strict, like that of an army ; each province having a pro- 
vincial at its head, with a general over all. To him all the members 
were absolutely subject. All other ties were renounced : to serve 
the Church and the order, was the one supreme obligation. 



414 MODERN HISTORY. 

Influence of the Jesuits. — The influence of the Jesuit order 
was manifold. It was active in preaching, and in hearing confes- 
sions. It made the education of youth a great part of its busi- 
ness. Its members found their way into high stations in Church 
and State : they were in the cabinets of princes. From the be- 
ginning, they showed an ardent zeal in missionary labors among 
the heathen in distant lands, and for the reconquest of countries 
won by the Protestants. 

The Inquisition. — Under the auspices of Cardinal Caraffa 
{Paid IV.), the Inquisition was introduced into Italy (1542), and 
exerted the utmost vigilance and severity in crushing out the new 
faith. One of its instruments was the censorship of the press. 
So thorough was this work, that of the little book on the Benefits 
of Chris fs Death, which had an immense circulation, it has been 
possible in recent years to find but two or three copies. The 
"■ Index " of prohibited books was established. The result of 
these measures was, that Protestantism was suppressed in Italy, and 
the type of Catholicism that was partially sympathetic with cer- 
tain doctrinal features of the Saxon Reform likewise vanished. 



CHAPTER V. 
PHILIP II., AND THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS. 

Character of Philip IL — In 1555 Charles V., enfeebled by 
his hfelong enemy, the gout, resigned his crowns, and devolved on 
his son, Philip II., the government of the Netherlands, together 
with the rest of his dominions in Spain, Italy, and America. The 
closing part of his life, the emperor passed in the secluded con- 
vent of Yuste, in Spain, where, notwithstanding the time spent by 
him in religious exercises, and in his favorite diversion of experi- 
menting with clocks and watches, he remained an attentive observer 
of public affairs. Political and religious absolutism was the main 
article in Philip's creed. He was more thoroughly a Spaniard in 
his tone and temper than his father, who was born in the Nether- 
lands, and always loved the people there, as he was loved by them. 
Philip was cold and forbidding in his manners. He was shy, as well 
as haughty, in his deportment to those who approached him. To 
re-establish everywhere the old religion by the unrelenting exercise 
of force, was his fixed purpose. Only one thing did he value more ; 
and that was his own power, which he would not suffer Church or 
clergy to curb or invade. He had few ideas, but was an adept in 
concealment and treachery. A man of untiring industry, he was a 
plodder without insight. He lived to see the vast strength which 



REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS. 415 

fell to him as a legacy slip out of his hands, and to see Spain sink 
to a condition of comparative weakness. Charles V. had consoli- 
dated his dominion in that country by putting down democratic 
insurrections. This he had done by military force and the ?rm of 
the Inquisition. What Charles had left undone in this line, Philip 
completed. He quelled the resistance of the Aragonese, and re- 
duced them to submission. Spain swarmed with civil and ecclesi- 
astical officials. The new religious doctrine, which assumed the 
same type as in Italy, was stifled. The monarch displayed his 
zeal by personal attendance at the autos da fe, the great public 
ceremonials for the execution of heretics, where the victims of his 
intolerance perished. A system of brutal military administration 
was adopted in the colonies. 

State of the Low Countries. — Philip undertook to treat the 
Netherlands as a Spanish province, and to break down the spirit 
of local independence. The people of the Low Countries were 
industrious, intelligent, prosperous, spirited. Each of the seventeen 
p/'ovinces had its own constitution. In the North, it was more 
democratic ; in Flanders and Brabant, there was a landed aris- 
tocracy. In all parts of the country, there were local privileges 
and cherished rights. The population numbered three millions. 
Antive^p, with its hundred thousand inhabitants, had more trade 
than any other European city. The Reformation, first in the 
Lutheran but latei in the Calvinistic form, had numerous adher- 
ents in the Netherlands, whom severe edicts of Charles V., under 
which large numbers were put to death, did not extirpate. 

Tyranny of Philip. — Philip did not select for his regent in the 
Netherlands one of the aristocracy of the country. Of this class 
was Count Egniont, a nobleman of brilliant courage and attractive 
manners. William, Prince of Orange, united with far more self- 
control the sagacity of a statesman. He was destined to be the 
formidable antagonist of Spanish tyranny, and the liberator of 
Holland. Philip passed by the nobles, whom he distrusted and dis- 
liked, and appointed as regent the illegitimate daughter of Charles 
v., Margaret of Parma (1559- 1567) ; placing at her side, as her 
principal adviser, the astute Granvelle, the Bishop of Arras, one 
of his devoted servants, who was made cardinal in 156 1. Three 
nobles, William of Orange, and the Counts Egmont and Horn, 
were in the council. The power was in Granvelle'' s hands. There 
was soon a breach between him and the nobles. Two measures 
of Philip created disaffection. He was slow in withdrawing the 
hated Spanish soldiers ; he increased the number of bishops, a 
cherished scheme of Charles V. Moreover, he renewed and 
proceeded to enforce edicts, embracing minute provisions of a 
most rigorous character, against the property and lives of the 
Protestants, although the Inquisition had lost public favor. The 



4l6 MODERN HISTORY. 

terror and indignation of the people found expression through the 
nobles. They left the council. At length Granvelk had to be 
withdrawn from the country (1564). Egmont went to Spain to 
procure a mitigation of the king's policy, but found on his return 
that he had been duped by false promises. The young nobility 
formed an agreement called the Compromise, to withstand the 
king's system, at first by legal means (1566). They were con- 
temptuously called "beggars" by the regent, and themselves 
adopted the name. The king professed a willingness to make 
some concessions : he was only gaining time for measures of a 
different sort. In the same year a storm of iconoclasm burst out : 
the Cah'inists made reprisals for what they had suffered ; they 
vented their zeal against what they called "idolatry," by sacking 
the churches, and by destroying paintings and images, and other 
symbols and implements of worship. Orange penetrated the de- 
signs of Philip, and retired to Nassau. Egmont, more credulous 
and confiding, remained. 

Alva's Rule. — Philip now sent into the Netherlands the Duke 
of Alva, an officer of considerable military capacity, cold, arro- 
gant, and merciless in his temper. His force consisted of ten 
thousand men. A tribunal was erected by him, called the " Council 
of Blood." Pgmo7it Sind Horn were executed at Brussels (1568). 
Great numbers of executions of men and women, of all ranks, 
who were accused of some sort of insubordination, or some mani- 
festation of heresy, followed. William of Orange was active in 
devising means of deliverance. The first marked success was 
the capture of Briel by the " sea-beggars," inhabitants of the 
coasts of Holland and Zealand, under their admiral, William de 
la Mark. The barbarities and extortion of Alva by degrees 
aroused universal and intense hatred. Holland and Zealand threw 
off Alva's rule, and made William their stadtholder. The nomi- 
nal connection with Spain was still kept up. The massacre of St, 
Bartholomew (1572) cut off Willia?n from the help which he 
expected from the French. It was felt, however, that Alva had 
failed in his attempt to subjugate the people, and he was withdrawn 
from the country by Philip (1573). 

The Utrecht Union. — From the capture of Briel may be dated 
the beginning of the long and arduous struggle which resulted in 
the building-up of the Dutch Republic of the United Provinces, 
and the ultimate prostration of the power of Spain. The hero 
of the struggle was William of Orange. The successor of Alva, 
Requesens, was really more dangerous than Alva, because he was 
more magnanimous, and therefore excited less antagonism. In 
1574 occurred the memorable siege of Ley den by the Spanish 
forces. Tnat city, when reduced to the last extremity, was saved 
by letting in the sea and by inundating the neighboring plains, 



THE CIVIL WARS IN FRANCE. 417 

which compelled the Spaniards to flee in dismay. As a memorial 
of the heroic defense of the place, the University of Leyden was 
founded. A new Protestant state was growing up in the North, 
under the guidance of William. In the South, where Catholicism 
prevailed, Requesens was more successful. But when he died, in 
1576, a frightful revolt of his soldiers, who were loosed from re- 
straint, in the cities, moved all Netherlands to unite, in the Pacifi- 
cation of Ghent, against the Spanish dominion. Don John of 
Austria, a brilliant and manly soldier, who had defeated the Turks 
at Lepa?ito,wd& the next regent (15 76-15 78). He made large 
concessions : these were welcome in the South, and weakened the 
Union. Alexander of Parma (1578, 1579), his successor, was 
the ablest general of the time. The Catholic South was at variance 
with the Protestant North. In 1579, there was formed between 
the seven provinces in the North the Utrecht Union, the germ of 
the Dutch Republic. Philip proclaimed William an outlaw, and 
set a price on his head. After six ineffectual attempts at assassi- 
nation, this heroic leader, the idol of his countrymen, was fatally 
shot, in his own house (1584). His work as a deliverer of his 
people was mainly accomplished. When the Utrecht Union was 
formed, the greater part of the Catholic provinces in the South 
entered into an arrangement with Parma. Brabant and Flanders 
were recovered to Spain. The attention of Philip had to be mainly 
given to the affairs of France and Englatid during the remainder 
of his life. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE CIVIL WABS IN FRANCE, TO THE DEATH OF HENRY 

IV. (1610). 

Francis I. : Henry II. — In France, the old faith had strong 
support in the Sorbonne, the influential theological faculty of the 
University of Paris, and in the Parliament. The new culture, the 
influx of Italian scholars and Italian influences, produced a party 
averse to the former style of education, and, to some extent, 
unfriendly to the old opinions. The Lutheran doctrines were first 
introduced ; but it was Calvinism which prevailed among the 
French converts to Protestantism, and acquired a strong hold in 
the middle and higher classes, although the preponderance of 
numbers in the country was always on the Catholic side. Fran- 
cis I. was a friend of the new learning. His sister Margaret, 
Queen of Navarre, who was of a mystical turn, was favorably 
inclined to the new doctrines, and befriended preachers who were 
of the same spirit. The king did the same until after the battle 



41 8 MODERN HISTORY. 

of Pavia, when he helped on the persecution of them ; for his con- 
duct was governed by the interest of the hour, and by pohtical 
motives. It was doubtful what course he would finally take amid 
the conflict of parties ; but his motto was, " One king, one code, 
one creed." He would put down the new doctrine at home, and 
sustain it by force, if expedient, abroad. Henry II., who acceded 
to the throne in 1547, unlike his father had no personal sympathy 
with Protestantism. The Huguenots, as the Calvinists were called, 
were led to the stake, and their books burned. Yet in 1558 they 
had two thousand places of worship in France : they soon held a 
general synod at Paris, and organized themselves (1559). That 
same year, when, in the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis, Henry had 
given up all his conquests except the three bishoprics of Metz, 
Toul and Verdun, and Calais, he suddenly died from a wound 
in the eye, accidentally inflicted in a ^It. 

Catherine de Medici: the Two Parties. — The widow of Henry 
II. was Catherifie de Medici, to whom he had been married from 
political considerations. She was a woman of talents, full of ambi- 
tion which had hitherto found no field for its exercise, trained 
from infancy in an atmosphere of deceit, and void of moral prin- 
ciple. Her aim was to rule by keeping up an ascendency over 
her sons, and by holding in check whatever part}^ threatened to 
be dominant. For this end she did not scruple to accustom her 
children to debauchery, and to resort to whatever other means, 
however false and however cruel, to effect her purposes. She 
proved to be the curse of the house of Valois, and the evil genius 
of France. Francis II. was a boy of sixteen, and legally of age ; 
but his mother expected to manage the government. She was 
thwarted by the control over him exercised by the family of 
Guise, sons of Claude of Guise, a wealthy and prominent noble- 
man of Lorraijie, who had distinguished himself at Marigna7io, 
and in later contests against Charles V. Francis, the Duke of 
Guise, had defended Metz, and had taken Calais. Charles, the 
Cardinal of Lorraine, was the king's confessor. Their sister had 
married James V. of Scotland. Her daughter, Mary Stuart, a 
charming young girl, was married to Francis II, who was infirm 
in mind and body, and easily managed by his wife and her uncles. 
The great nobles of France, especially the Bourbons, sprung in a 
collateral line from Louis IX., Montmorency, and his three neph- 
ews, among them a man of extraordinary ability and worth, the 
Admiral Coligny, looked on the Guises as upstarts. The Bour- 
bons and the nobles allied to them were, some from sincere con- 
viction and some from policy, adherents of Calvinism. Thus the 
Protestants in France became a political party, as well as a reli- 
gious body, and a party with nnti-monarchical tendencies. Anthony 
of Bourbon, a weak and vacillating person, had married Jeanne 



THE CIVIL WARS IN FRANCE. 419 

d^Albret, the heiress of Beam and Navarre, a heroic woman and 
an earnest Protestant, the mother of Henry IV. His brother 
Louis, Prince of Cond(!, a brave, impetuous soldier, whose wife, 
the niece of the Grand Constable Montmore7icy, was a strict Prot- 
estant, joined that side. 

Conspiracy of Amboise. — La Renaudie, a Protestant noble- 
man who was determined to avenge the execution of a brother, 
contrived tlie Conspiracy of Amboise (1560) in order to dispos- 
sess the Guises of their power by force. The plan was discovered, 
and a savage revenge was taken upon the conspirators. A great 
number of innocent persons, who had no share in the plot, were 
put to death. The Estates were summoned to Orleans, and the 
occasion was to be seized for extirpating heresy throughout the 
kingdom. Conde was under arrest, and charged with high trea- 
son. Just then, on Dec. 5, 1560, the young king died. 

Charles IX. : Edict of St. Germain. — The coveted opportunity 
of the queen-mother had come. Charles IX. (1560-1574) was 
only ten years old. She assumed the practical guardianship over 
him, and with it a virtual regency. The plan of the Guises had 
failed, and they had to give way. There were now two parties 
in the council. The States-general were called together in 1561, 
and a- great religious colloquy was held before a briUiant con- 
course at Foissv, where Theodore Beza, an eloquent and polished 
scholar and a man of high birth, pleaded the cause of the Cal- 
vinists. In 1562 the Edict of January was issued, which gave 
up the policy that had been pursued for forty years, of extirpating 
religious dissent. A very restricted toleration was given to Protes- 
tants : they could hold their meetings outside of the walls of cities, 
unarmed, and in the daytime. Calvin and his followers expected 
the largest results from this measure of liberty. Catherine wished 
for peace, without a rupture with the Pope and Philip II. 

Civil War. — It was impossible to prevent outbreakings of vio- 
lence against the hated dissenters. The Guises and their asso- 
ciates were resolved not to allow toleration. The event that 
occasioned war was the massacre of Vassy. On the ist of March, 
1562, the soldiers of the Duke of Guise, who was passing through 
the town, attacked some Huguenots who were worshiping in a 
barn at the village of Vassy. A large number were slain, and some 
houses plundered, in spite of the Duke's efforts to check his troops. 
The civil wars, so begun, closed only with the accession of Henry 
IV. to the throne. France was a prey to rehgious and political 
fanaticism. Other nations mingled in the frightful contest, and the 
country was well-nigh robbed of its independence. At first, there 
was petty warfare at Paris, Sens, and other places. The Hugue- 
nots destroyed altars and censers, monuments of art and sepulchers, 
which, as they thought, ministered to idolatry. Rouen was cap- 



420 MODERN HISTORY. 

tured by the Catholics and sacked. At Dreux (1562) the Prot- 
estants were defeated; but in 1563 Guise, the leader of their 
adversaries, was assassinated by a Huguenot nobleman. The 
charge that Coligny had a part in the deed was false ; but he was 
considered responsible for it, and vengeance was kept in store by 
the family of the slain chief. The Edict of Amboise (1563) was 
favorable to the Protestant nobles, but less favorable to the smaller 
gentry and to the towns. Fa?-is, from which Calvinist worship was 
excluded, became more and more a stronghold of the Catholic 
party. Another war ended in the Peace of Longjumeau (1568), 
which was essentially the same as the Edict of Amboise. Philip 
II. and the Duke of Alva spared no effort to induce France to set 
about the extermination of the heretics. In the tJm-d war, the 
Huguenots were beaten at Jarnac, where Conde fell, leaving his 
name to his son Henry, a youth of seventeen (1569). The same 
year they were defeated again at Moncontour. La Rochelle was a 
place of safety to the Protestants, who were strong in the wise 
leadership of Coligny. There the Queen of Navarre held her court. 
Thence the Huguenot cavalry with the young princes Conde, and 
Henry of Navarre, her son, sallied forth and traversed France. 

England or Spain. — The ambition of Philip alarmed the French. 
His complex schemes, if carried out, would involve the reduction 
of their country under Spanish control. He wanted to liberate 
Mary, Queen of Scots, then a prisoner of Elizabeth, to marry her 
to his half-brother, Don John, and to marry his sister to Charles 
IX. The court, in 1570, agreed to the Peace of St. Germain, 
which, for the security of the Huguenots, placed four fortified towns 
in their possession. Thus France became a kingdom divided against 
itself. England, as well as France, looked with alarm upon the 
ambitious projects oi Philip II., who was now in union with Venice 
and with the Pope, and had beaten the Turks at Lepanto. It was 
proposed to marry the brother of Charles IX., the Duke of Anfou, 
to Queen Elizabeth ; and when this negotiation was broken off, it 
was proposed that the Duke of Alen^on, a younger brother, should 
marry her. Catherine de Medici fell in with this anti-Spanish 
policy. It was agreed that her youngest daughter, Margaret of 
Valois, should become the wife of Henry of Navarre. The policy 
favored by the Huguenots was in the ascendant. Their leaders were 
invited to Paris to be present at the nuptials. Coligny came, with 
Henry of Navarre, Conde, and a large number of their adherents. 
There was no place where the animosity against them was so 
rancorous. 

The Massacre of St. Bartholomew. — The massacre of St. Bar- 
tholomew was devised by Catherine de Medici, who brought to her 
aid the Duchess of Nemours, widow oi Francis of Guise and mother 
of Henry of Guise, Anjou (afterwards Henry III.), and Itahan 



THE CIVIL WARS IN FRANCE. 42 1 

counselors who were no strangers to plots of assassination. The 
motive of the queen-mother was her dread of the ascendency 
which she saw that Coligny was gaining over the morbid mind of 
the king, in whom the Huguenot veteran had inspired esteem, and 
had stirred up a desire to enter into the proposed war against Philip 
II. in the Netherlands. On the 22d of August (1572), a shot was 
fired at Coligny, from a window of a house, by an adherent of the 
Guises. He was wounded, but not killed. Charles was incensed. 
At a visit made to the wounded chief, the king was warned by him, 
as Catherine quickly learned, against her pernicious influence in the 
government. Thereupon she arranged with her confederates for a 
general slaughter of the Huguenots, and almost coerced the half- 
frantic and irresolute king to acquiesce in the plan. Perhaps, in 
gathering them into the city, she had foreseen the possible expedi- 
ency of a change of policy, and that such a crime as she now 
undertook to perpetrate might be found desirable. In the night 
of the 24th of August, at a concerted signal, the fanatical enemies 
of the Huguenots were let loose, and fell upon their victims. 
Several thousands, including Coligny, were murdered. Couriers 
were sent through the country, and like bloody scenes were en- 
acted in many other cities and towns. Navarre and Condi, to 
■save ^ their lives, professed conformity to the Catholic Church. 
If these atrocious events excited joy in the mind of Philip II., 
and of the num.erous intolerant party of which he was the head, 
they were regarded with horror and execration elsewhere, among 
the Catholic as well as the Protestant nations. 

The Politiques : the League : Henry III. — The queen-mother 
did not even now forsake her general policy. She stood aloof 
from the combinations of Philip. A new party, the Politiques, 
or liberal Catholics, in favor of toleration, arose. Henry III. 
(15 74-1589) was incompetent to govern a country torn by fac- 
tions, with an exhausted treasury, and a people groaning under the 
burdens of taxation. By his double dealing he lost the confidence 
of both the religious parties. In May, 1576, he agreed to allow 
the religious freedom which the Huguenots and Politiques de- 
manded. But he had to reckon with the Catholic League whicli 
was organized under Henry of Guise. Irresolute and helpless, the 
king was drawn into cooperation with this League. In 1584 
Henry of Navarre was left the next heir to the throne. The 
League, with Spain and Rome, resolved that he should not reign. 
Together with Conde., he was excommunicated. In the war of 
the " three Henrys," he was supported by England, and by troops 
from Germany and Switzerland. He?iiy III., finding that Henry 
of Guise was virtual master, and that the States-general at Blois 
(1588) reduced the royal power to the lowest point, caused Guise 
and his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine, to be assassinated. 



422 MODERN HISTORY. 

Excommunicated, and detested by the adherents of the League, 
the king took refuge in the camp of Henry of Navm-re, where he 
was killed by a fanatical priest (1589). 

Abjuration and Accession of Henry IV. — The Duke of 
Mayenne, brother of the slain Guises, was at the head of the gov- 
ernment provisionally established by the League. Philip II. was 
intriguing to bring the Catholic nations under his sway. There 
was discord in the League, from the jealousy of Philip on the part 
of Mayenne. Henry, a dashing soldier, gained a brilliant victory 
at Ivry in 1590. The grand obstacle in his way to the throne was 
his adhesion to Protestantism. A Calvinist by birth and educa- 
tion, but without profound religious convictions, a gallant and 
sagacious man, but loose in his morals, he yielded, for the sake of 
giving peace to France, to the persuasions addressed to him, and, 
from motives of expediency, conformed to the Catholic Church. 
The nation was now easily won to his cause. 

Reign of Henry IV. — When Henry IV. gained his throne, the 
country was in a most wretched condition. In the desolating wars, 
population had fallen off. Everywhere there were poverty and law- 
lessness. Yet war with Spain was inevitable. Li this war, Henry 
was the victor ; and the Peace of Vervins restored the Spanish con- 
quests, and the conquests made by Savoy, to France (1598). The 
idea of Hefirfs foreign policy, which was that of weakening the 
power of Spain and of the house of Hapsburg, was afterwards 
taken up by a powerful statesman, Richelieu, and fully realized. In 
the Edict of Nantes (1598), the king secured to the Huguenots the 
measure of religious liberty for which they had contended. Forti- 
fied cities were still left in their hands. Security was obtained by 
the Calvinists, but they became a defensive party with no prospect 
of further progress. Order and prosperity were restored to the 
kingdom. In all his measures, the king was largely guided by a 
most competent minister, Sully. But the useful reign of Henry IV. 
was cut short by the dagger of an assassin, Ravaillac (t6io). For 
fifteen years confusion prevailed in France, and a contest of fac- 
tions, until Richelieu took up the threads of policy which had fallen 
from Henry's hand. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE THIKTY-YEARS' WAR, TO THE PEACE OF WEST- 
PHALIA (1618-1648). 

Origin of the War. — In Germany, more than in any other 
country, the Reformation had sprung from the hearts of the peo- 
ple. Its progress would have been far greater had it not been 



THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 423 

retarded by political obstacles, and by divisions among Protestants 
themselves. Germany, to be sure, was not disunited by the 
Reformation : it was disunited before. But now strong states ex- 
isted on its borders, — France, even Denmark and Sweden, — which 
might profit by its internal conflicts. The Peace of Augsburg, 
unsatisfactory as it was to both parties, availed to prevent open 
strife as long as Ferdinand I. (1556-1564) and Maximilian II. 
(1564-15 76) held the imperial office. The latter, especially, 
favored toleration, and did not sympathize with the fanaticism of 
the Spanish branch of his family. He condemned the cruelties 
of Alva and the massacre of St. Bartholomew. With the acces- 
sion of Rudolph II., a change took place. He had been brought 
up in Spain. The Catholic counter-reformation was now making 
its advance. The order of the Jesuits was putting forth great and 
successful exertions to win back lost ground. There were out- 
breakings of violence between the two religious parties. A Cath- 
olic procession was insulted in Donauworth, a free city of the 
empire. The city was put under the ban by the emperor ; the 
Bavarian Duke marched against it, and incorporated it in his own 
territory (1607). On both sides, complaints were made of the 
infraction of the Peace of Augsburg. The Donauworth affair led 
to the forn;.ation of the Evangelical Union, a league into which, 
however, all the Protestant states did not enter. The Catholic 
League, under the leadership of Maximilian of Bavaria, was firmly 
knit together and full of energy. 

FIRST STAGE IN THE WAR (tO 1 6 29). 

The Bohemian Struggle. — The Bohemians revolted against 
Ferdinand II. in 16 18, when their religious liberties were violated, 
and shortly after (1619) refused to acknowledge him as their king. 
He was a narrow and fanatical, though not by nature a cruel, ruler. 
He gave himself up to the control of the Catholic League. The 
two branches of the Hapsburg family — the Austrian and Span- 
ish — were now in full accord with each other. The Bohemians 
gave their crown to Frederick V., the Elector Palatine, the son-in- 
law oi James I. of England. Bohemia was invaded by Fet^di- 
nand, aided by the League, and abandoned to fire and sword. The 
terrible scenes of the Hussite struggle were re-enacted. In the 
protracted wars that ensued, it was estimated that the Bohemian 
population was reduced from about four millions to between seven 
and eight hundred thousand ! The Palatinate was conquered and 
devastated. The electoral dignity was transferred to the Duke of 
Bavaria. At last, in 1625, England, Holland, and Denmark in- 
tervened in behalf of the fugitive Elector Palatine. Christian IV. 
of Denmark was defeated, and the intervention failed. The 
power gained by Maximilian, the Bavarian Duke, made his in- 



424 MODERN HISTORY. 

terests separate, in important particulars, from those of Ferdi- 
nand. Ferdinand was able to release himself from the virtual 
control of Maximilian and the League, through Wallenstein, a 
general of extraordinary ability. He was a Bohemian noble, proud, 
ambitious, and wealthy. He raised an army, and made it support 
itself by pillage. The unspeakable miseries of Germany, in this 
prolonged struggle, were due largely to the composition of the 
armies, which were made up of hirehngs of different nations, 
whose trade was war, and who were let loose on an unprotected 
population. Captured cities were given up to the unbridled pas- 
sions of a fierce and greedy soldiery. Germany, traversed for a 
whole generation by these organized bands of marauders, was in 
many places reduced almost to a desert. 

Edict of Restitution. — Victory attended the arms of Wallen- 
stein, and of Tilly, a brutal commander, the general of the League. 
The territory of the Dukes of Mecklenburg was given to Wallen- 
stein as a reward ( 1629) . He was anxious to conquer the German 
towns on the Baltic. Stralsund offered a stubborn resistance, 
which he could not overcome. The League moved Ferdinand to 
the adoption of the Edict of Restitution (1629), which put far 
off the hope of peace. This edict enforced the parts of the Peace 
of Augsburg which were odious to the Protestants, especially the 
Ecclesiastical Reservation (p. 410), and abrogated the provisions of 
an opposite tenor. It was evident that the real aim was the entire 
extinction of Protestantism. The League, moreover, induced 
the emperor to remove Wallenstein, of whom they were jealous. 
The effect of these measures was to rouse the most lukewarm 
of the Protestant princes, including the electors of Brandenburg 
and Saxony, to a sense of the common danger. It was plain 
that Wallenstein was a sacrifice to the League, and to the ambition 
of Maxi^nilian of Bavaria. 

SECOND STAGE IN THE WAR (1629-1632), 

In the second act of this long drama, Gustavus Adolphus of 
Sweden is the hero. His reign is marked by the rise of his 
country to the height of its power. 

Events in Sweden: Career of Gustavus Adolphus. — Gusta- 
vus Vasa made the mistake of undertaking to divide power among 
his four sons. There was a vein of eccentricity, amounting some- 
times to insanity, in the family. Eric XIV. was hasty and jealous, 
imprisoned his brother y<?/2;z, and committed reckless crimes. In 
1569 he was himself confined, and nine years after was secretly 
put to death. John and another brother, Charles of Siiderman- 
land, now reigned together. John was favorable to the Roman- 
Catholic Church, and offended his Protestant subjects by efforts at 
union and compromise. Moreover, he unwisely made concessions 



THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 425 

to the nobles, and increased the burdens of the peasants. Finally, 
he wanted to make his son Sigismund king of Poland, a country 
which, from its anarchical constitution, was on the road to ruin. 
Poland was a Catholic land ; and, in order to get the crown, Sigis- 
mund avowed himself a Catholic. Charles, a strict Lutheran, 
drew to his side all who were hostile Xo John's spirit and policy. 
On the death of the latter (1592), Duke Charles came into col- 
lision with Sigismund and with the nobles, whose power depended 
on his concessions ; and he gained the victory over them (1598). 
In 1604 the Diet gave him the crown, which he wore for seven 
years. He had to contend against faction, and to withstand the 
attacks of Denmark and of Russia. In the midst of these 
troubles he died, and was succeeded by his son Giistavus Adol- 
phus, then less than eighteen years of age (1611-1632). He was 
a well-educated prince, early familiar with war, a devoted patriot, 
and, although tolerant in his temper, was a sincere Protestant, after 
the type of the old Saxon electors. For eighteen years after his 
accession, it had been his aim to control the Baltic. This had 
brought him into conflict with Denmark, Poland, and Russia. 
His interposition in the German war, a step which was full of 
peril to himself, was regarded by Brandenbuig and Saxony with 
jealousy and repugnance. But when the savage troops of Tilly 
(1631) sacked and burned Magdeburg, the neutral party was driven 
to side with Sweden. Gustavus defeated Tilly, and the advance 
of his army in the South of Germany prostrated the power of the 
League. The princes regarded the Swedish king with suspicion : 
the cities regarded him with cordiaUty. Whether along with his 
sagacious and just intentions he connected his own elevation to 
the rank of King of Rome, and emperor, must be left uncertain. 
Ferdinand was obliged to call back Walle?istein. The battle of 
Liitzen, in 1632, was a great defeat of Wallenstein, and a grand 
victory for the Swedes ; but it cost them the life of their king. 



426 



MODERN HISTORY. 



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THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 427 

THIRD STAGE IN THE WAR ( 1 63 2- 1 648). 

Trance after Henry IV. — After the death of Gustavus, in the 
new phase of the war, the influence of Richelieu, the great minister 
of France, becomes more and more dominant. Germany was in 
the end doomed to eat the bitter fruits of civil war, such as spring 
from foreign interference, even when it comes in the form of help. 
Henry IV. had died when he was on the point of directing the 
power of France, as of old, against the house of Hapsburg. The 
country now fell back for a series of years to a state akin to that 
under the kings who preceded him, although it was saved from a 
long civil war. Louis XIII. (1610-1643) was a child; and the 
queen, Mar-y de Medici, who was the regent, an Italian woman, 
with no earnest principles, deprived of the counsels of Sully, lav- 
ished the resources of the crown upon nobles, who were greedy of 
place and pelf. At the assembly of the States-general in 16 14, 
nobles, clergy, and the third estate were loud in reciprocal accusa- 
tions. The queen fell under the influence of the Concinis, an 
■Italian waiting-maid and her husband, the latter of whom she made 
a marquis and a marshal of France. She leagued herself in various 
ways with Spain. As the king grew older, a party rallied about 
him, and the marshal was assassinated (161 7). From that time 
Loiiis was under the influence of a favorite, the Diike de Luynes, a 
native Frenchman, with whom the nobles were in sympathy. The 
duke died in 162 1. Then Richelieu, Bishop of Lugon (made a 
cardinal in 1622), a statesman of extraordinary genius, began his 
active career in politics, and after 1624 guided the policy of France, 
as a sort of Mayor of the Palace. Louis XIII. was not personally 
fond of him, but felt the need of him. Richelieu'' s aim, as regards 
the government of France, was to consolidate the monarchy by 
bringing the aristocracy into subjection to the king. Under him 
began the process of centralization, the system of officers appointed 
and paid by the government, which was fully developed after the 
great revolution. He accomplished the overthrow of the Hugue- 
nots as a political organization, a state within the state. In 1628 
Rochelle, the last of their towns, fell into his hands. He was 
determined to make the civil authority supreme. He resisted 
interference with its rights on the part of the Church. The nobles 
were reduced to obedience by the infliction of severe punish- 
ments. The common people were kept under. But the domes- 
tic government of Richelieu made it possible for the selfish and 
ruinous policy of Louis XIV. to arise. The key of his foreign 
policy was hostility to Austria and Spain, to both branches of 
the Hapsburgs. Before he took active measures against them, he 
had to procure quiet in France, and to provide himself with 
money and troops. 



428 MODE-RN HISTORY. 

Intervention of Richelieu. — The pretext of Richelieu for taking 
part in the German war was the alleged ambitious aim of the 
Hapsburgs to destroy the independence of other nations. He 
helped Gustavus with money ; but the Swedish king would neither 
allow him to take territory, nor to dictate the method of pros- 
ecuting the contest. It was agreed that the Catholic religion as 
such should not be attacked. Oxenstiern, the Swedish chancel- 
or, in the Heilbronn Treaty (1633) adhered to the same policy. 

Death of Wallenstein. — Walknstein had now become dangerous 
to the emperor. He negotiated with the Protestants, the Swedes, 
and the French, possibly to confront the emperor with the accom- 
plished fact of peace and to claim as a reward the Palatinate or 
the KingdoDi of Bohemia. Deprived of his command and declared 
a traitor, he was assassinated by some of his officers (1634). 

End of the War. — The imperial victory of Nordlingen (1634) 
made the active assistance of France necessary. But it was not 
until the death of Bernard of Weimar, the foremost general of the 
Germans (1639), that Richelieu found himself at the goal of his 
efforts. The armies opposed to the emperor were now under the 
control of the French. The character of the war had changed. 
Protestant states were fighting on the imperial side : the old theo- 
logical issues were largely forgotten. Yet the Court of Vienna 
still clung to the Edict of Restitution (p. 424) for eight long years, 
during which the confused, frightful warfare was kept up. At last 
the military reverses of the em'^Qxor, Ferdinand III. (1637-165 7), 
who, unlike his father, was not indisposed to peace, wrung from 
him a consent to the necessary conditions. 

Effects of the War. — The barbarities of this long war are 
indescribable. The unarmed people were treated with brutal 
ferocity. The population of Germany is said to have diminished 
in thirty years from twenty to fifty per cent. The population of 
one city, Augsburg, fell from eighty to eighteen thousand. There 
were four hundred thousand people in Wi'irteniberg : in 1641 only 
forty-eight thousand were left. In fertile districts, the destruc- 
tion of the crops had caused great numbers to perish by famine. 
It is only in recent years that the number of horned cattle in Ger- 
many has come to equal what it was in 16 18. Cities, villages, 
castles, and dwellings innumerable, had been burned to the ground. 

The Peace of Westphalia. — The Peace of Westphalia, con- 
cluded in 1648, was a great European settlement. It was agreed, 
that in Germany, whatever might be the faith of the prince, the 
religion of each state was to be Catholic or Protestant, according 
to its position in 1624, which was fixed upon as the " normal year." 
In the imperial administration, the two religions were to be sub- 
stantially equal. Religious freedom and civil equality were' ex- 
tended to the Calvinists. The empire was reduced to a shadow 



THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 429 

by giving to the Diet the power to decide in all important matters, 
and by the permission given to its members to make alliances with 
one another and with foreign powers, with the futile proviso that 
no prejudice should come thereby to the empire or the emperor. 
The independence of Holland and Switzerland was acknowledged. 
Sweden obtained the territory about the Baltic, in addition to 
other important places, and became a member of the German 
Diet. Among the acquisitions of France were the three bishop- 
rics, Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and the landgraviate of Upper and 
Lower Alsace. Thus iv'rtt^i:^ gained access to the Rhine. Sweden 
and France, by becoming guarantors of the peace, obtained the 
right to interfere in the internal affairs of Germany. 

Consequences of the Treaty. — By this treaty, what was left 
of central authority in Germany was destroyed : the empire ex- 
isted only in name ; the mediaeval union of empire and papacy 
was at an end. Valuable German territories were given up to 
ambitious neighbors. France had extended her bounds, and dis- 
ciplined her troops. Sweden had gained what Gustavus had 
coveted, and, for the time, was a power of the first class. Spain 
and Austria were both disabled, and reduced in rank. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



SECOND STAGE OP THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND: TO 
THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH (1547-1603). 

Reign of Edward VI. (1547-1553). — Henry VIIL, with Par- 
liament, had determined the order of succession, giving precedence 
to Edward, his son by Jane Seymour, over the two princesses, 
Mary, the daughter of Catherine, and Elizabeth, the daughter of 
Anne Boleyn. Edward VI., who was but ten years old at his 
accession, was weak in body, but was a most remarkable instance 
of intellectual precocity. The government now espoused the 
Protestant side. Somerset, the king's uncle, was at the head of 
the regency. The Six Articles (p. 407) were repealed. Protes- 
tant theologians from the Continent were taken into the counsels 
of the English prelates, Cranmer and Ridley. Under the leader- 
ship of Cranmer, the Book of Common Prayer was framed, and 
the Articles, or creed, composed. The clergy were allowed to 
marry. The Anglican Protestant Church was fully organized, but 
the progress in the Protestant direction was rather too rapid for 
the sense of the nation. Somerset, who was fertile in schemes 
and a good soldier, invaded Scotland in order to enforce the ful- 
filling of the treaty which had promised the young Princess Mary 



430 MODERN HISTORY. 

of Scotland to Edivard in marriage. He defeated the Scots at 
Pinkie, near Edinburgh ; but the project as to the marriage failed. 
Mary was sent by the Scots to France, there to become the wife 
of Francis II. Land belonging to the Church was seized by 
Somerset to make room for Somerset Hoii^se. A Catholic rebeUion 
in Cornwall and Devonshire, provoked by the Protector's course, 
was suppressed with difficulty. The opposidon to him on various 
grounds, which was led by the Duke of Northumberland, finally 
brought the Protector to the scaffold. But Northumberland proved 
to be less worthy to hold the protectorate than he, and labored to 
aggrandize his relatives. He was one of the nobles who made 
use of Protestantism as a means of enriching themselves. He 
persuaded the young king, when he was near his end, to setde the 
crown, contrary to what Parliament had determined, on Lady Jane 
Grey, Northumberland's daughter-in-law, a descendant of Henry 's 
sister. 

The Reign of Mary. — Notwithstanding the Protector's selfish 
scheme, Mary succeeded to the throne without serious difficulty. 
Northutnberland was beheaded as a traitor. An insurrection 
under Wyat was put down, and led to the execution of the un- 
fortunate and innocent Lady Jane Grey. From her birth and all 
the circumstances of her life, Mary was in cordial sympathy with 
the Church of Rome and with Spain. She proceeded as rapidly 
as her more prudent advisers, including her kinsman Philip II., 
would allow, to restore the Catholic system. The married clergy 
were excluded from their places, and the Prayer-Book was abol- 
ished. The point where Parliament showed most hesitation was 
in reference to the royal supremacy. The nobles were afraid of 
losing their fields and houses, which had belonged to the Church, 
It was stipulated that the abbey lands, which were now held by 
the nobles and gentry as well as by the crown, should not be given 
up. Personally, Maiy was inclined to any measure which obliga- 
tion to the Catholic religion might dictate. Contrary to the 
general wish of her subjects, she married Philip II. Rigorous 
measures of repression were adopted against the Protestants. A 
large number of persons, eminent for talents and learning, were 
put to death on the charge of heresy. Among them were the 
three bishops, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latijner, who were burned 
at the stake at Oxford (1556). Gardiner, Bonner, and the rigid 
advocates of persecution, had full sway. These severe measures 
were not popular ; and, although the queen was not in her natural 
temper cruel, they have given her the name of the " Bloody 
Mary." Each party used coercion when it had the upper hand. 
A great number of the Protestant clergy fled to the Continent. 
Mary sided with Spain against France, and, greatly to the disgust 
of the English, lost Calais (1558). Pope Paul IV. was disposed 



REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 43 1 

to press upon England the extreme demands of the CathoUc 
Reaction. He was, moreover, hostile to the Spanish-Austrian 
house. There was great fear respecting the confiscated Church 
property : her own share in it, the queen persuaded Parliament to 
allow her to surrender. Cardinal Pole, a moderate man, no longer 
guided her policy. He was deprived of the office of papal legate. 
General discontent prevailed in the kingdom. The queen herself 
was dispirited, and her life ended in anxiety and sorrow. 

Character of Elizabeth (1558-1603). — The nation welcomed 
Elizabeth to the throne. Her will was as imperious as that of her 
father. Her character was not without marked faults and foibles. 
She was vain, unwisely parsimonious, petulant, and overbearing, and 
evinced that want of truthfulness which was too common among 
rulers and statesmen at that period. But she had regal virtues, — 
high courage, devotion to the public good, for which she had the 
strength to sacrifice personal inclinations, together with the wisdom 
to choose astute counselors and to adhere to them. Her title to 
the throne was disputed. She had to contend against powerful 
and subtle adversaries. Her defense lay in the mutual jealousy of 
France and Spain, and in the determination of Englishmen not to 
be ruled by foreigners. Her reign was long and glorious. 

Her Religioua Position. — In her doctrine, Elizabeth was a 
moderate Lutheran, not bitterly averse to the Church of Rome, 
but, in accordance with the prevalent English feeling which Henry 
VIII. represented, clinging to the royal supremacy. The Protes- 
tant system, with the Prayer-Book, and the hierarchy dependent 
on the sovereign, was now restored. 

Protestantism in Scotland. — In case Elizabeth'' s claim to the 
crown were overthrown, the next heir would be Alary, Queen of 
Scots. Her grandmother was the eldest sister of Henry VIII. 
Her claim to the English crown was a standing menace to Eliza- 
beth. When Mary''s idXhex, James V., died (1542), she was only 
a few days old. Her mother, Mary of Guise, became regent. 
The Reformation had then begun to gain adherents in Scotland. 
On the accession of Elizabeth, at a time when the religious wars 
in France were about to begin, the Scottish regent undertook 
repressive measures of increased rigor. The principal agent in 
turning Scotland to the Protestant side was John Knox, an in- 
trepid preacher, honest, and rough in his ways, deeply imbued 
with the spirit of Calvinism, and free from every vestige of super- 
stitious deference for human potentates. He returned from the 
Continent in 1555. Many of the turbulent nobles, partly from 
conviction and partly from covetousness, adopted the new opin- 
ions. More and more, however, Knox gained a hold upon the 
common people. His preaching was effective : one of its natural 
consequences was an outburst of iconoclasm. Even Philip II 



432 MODERN HISTORY. 

was willing to have the nobles helped in the contest with the 
regent, Scotland being the ally of France. The queen-regent 
died in 1560. The Presbyterians now had full control, and Cal- 
vinistic Protestantism was legally established as the religion of the 
country. 

The Queen of Scots. — Such was the situation when Mary, the 
young widow of Francis II., came back to Scotland to assume her 
crown. A zealous Catholic, she undertook to rule a turbulent peo- 
ple among whom the most austere type of Protestantism was the 
legal and cherished faith. She had personal charms which Eliza- 
beth lacked, but as a sovereign she was wanting in the public 
virtue which belonged to her rival. Mary was quick-witted and 
full of energy ; but she had been brought up in the court of Cath- 
erine de Medici, in an atmosphere of duplicity and lax morals. 
She had the vices of the Stuarts, — an extravagant idea of the 
sacred prerogatives of kings, a disregard of popular rights, a will- 
ingness to break engagements. Her levity, even if it had been 
kept within bounds, would have been offensive to her Calvinistic 
subjects. She had at heart the restoration of the Catholic system. 
In Knox she found a vigilant and fearless antagonist, with so much 
support among the nobles and the common people that her at- 
tempts at coercion, like her blandishments, proved powerless. 
Contrary to the wishes and plans of Elizabeth, she married Darn- 
ley, a Scottish nobleman (1565), whom, not without reason, she 
soon learned to despise. Her half-brother Murray, a very able 
man, and the other Protestant nobles, had been opposed to the 
match. She allowed herself an innocent, but unseemly, intimacy 
with an Italian musician, Rizzio. With the connivance of her hus- 
band, he was dragged out of her supper-room at Holyrood, and 
brutally murdered hy Ruthven and other conspirators. In 1567, 
the house in which Darnley was sleeping, close by Edinburgh, was 
blown up with gunpowder, and he was killed. Whether Majy 
was privy to the murder, or not, is a point still in dispute. Certain 
it is that she gave her hand in marriage to Botlrwell, the prime 
author of the crime. A revolt of her subjects followed. She was 
compelled to abdicate : Murt-ay was made regent, and her infant 
•ion, James FI, was crowned at Stirling (1567). Escaping from 
confinement at Lochleven, she was defeated at langside, and 
obliged to fly to England for protection. 

Execution of Mary. — Elizabeth had no liking for the new reli- 
gious system in Scotland. She hated the necessity of aiding rebels 
against their sovereign. But there was no alternative. In 1569 
the defeat of the Huguenots in France was followed by a Catholic 
rebellion in the North of England. Elizabeth was excommuni- 
cated by Pope Pius V. There was a determination to dethrone 
her, and to hand over her crown to Mary. The drift of events 



REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 433 

was towards a conflict of England with Spain. The Duke of 
Norfolk, a leader in conspiracy and rebellion, who acted in concert 
with Philip and with Mary, was brought to the scaffold (1572). 
Elizabeth secretly aided the revolted subjects of Philip in the 
Netherlands, as Philip encouraged the malcontents in England and 
Ireland. The Queen of Scots was the center of the hopes of the 
enemies of England and of Elizabeth. When her complicity in 
the conspiracy of Babington, which involved a Spanish invasion 
and the dethronement and death of Elizabeth, was proved, Mary, 
after having been a captive for nineteen years, was condemned to 
death, and executed (1587) at Fotheringay Castle, 

The Spanish Armada. — In 1585 Elizabeth openly sent troops 
to the Netherlands under the command of her favorite, Leicester. 
The contest with Spain was kept up on the sea by bold English 
mariners, who captured the Spanish treasure-ships, and harassed 
the Spanish colonies. It was a period of maritime adventure, 
when men like Frobisher, Hawkins, and Raleigh made themselves 
famous, and when Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world. In 
the course of this voyage, Drake had seized from the Spanish 
vessels, and from the settlements on the coast of Peru and Chili, 
a vast amount of silver and gold. When it was known that Philip 
was preparing to invade England, Drake sailed into the harbor 
of Cadiz, and destroyed the ships and stores there (1587). He 
burned every Spanish vessel that he could find. He boasted on his 
return that he had "singed the king of Spain's beard." Philip 
made ready a mighty naval expedition, the " Invincible Armada," 
for the conquest of England. The fame of it resounded through 
Europe. A Spanish force in the Netherlands, under Parma, was 
to cooperate with it. In England, there were preparations to 
meet the attack. Catholics and Protestants were united for the 
defense of the kingdom. At Tilbury, Queen Elizabeth reviewed 
her troops on horseback, saying to them in a spirited speeSh, " I 
know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have 
the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too." 
The tempest, aiding the valor of the English seamen, dispersed the 
great fleet. No landing was effected, and the grand enterprise 
proved a complete failure. Only fifty- four out of the one hundred 
and fifty vessels succeeded in making their way back to Spain. 

Monopolies. — The queen knew how to yield to the people when she 
saw that they were determined upon a measure. This she did near the close 
of her reign, when the Commons called upon her to put an end to the 
monopolies which she had been in the habit of granting to individuals whom 
she specially liked. 

The Earl of Essex. — The queen had her personal favorites. Among 
them, Robert Dudley, whom she made the Earl of Leicester, was the one 
of whom she was most fond. She esteemed him much above his merits. 
Another of her favorites was the young Earl of Essex, who was vain and 



434 MODERN HISTORY. 

ambitious. He went in 1596 with Lord Hozvard in an expedition which took 
and plundered Cadiz. Then he was sent to Ireland in command of an army. 
He tailed, and came back to England without leave. He made a foolish 
attempt at insurrection, was tried for treason, and convicted ; and Elizabeth 
reluctantly signed the warrant for his execution (1601). 

Conquest of Ireland. — After the return of Essex from Ireland, 
where he had done nothing well, Lord Moitntjoy was sent to con- 
quer Ty7'one, the Desmonds, and other Irish chiefs. It was a long 
and fierce contest. He succeeded in subduing the country ; but 
the effect of his conquest was a terrible famine in the North, where 
the food had been destroyed. At the end of Elizabeth's reign, all 
Ireland was subject to England. 

The Puritans. — Uniformity in the forms of religious worship 
was ordained by law in England, and the queen was bent on 
enforcing it. A Court of Nigh Commission was established to 
punish heresy and nonconformity. This policy early brought on 
a conflict, not only with the Roman Catholics, but also with the 
large and growing class of Protestants who were called " Puritans." 
These wished to carry the Reformation farther than it had been 
carried by the Tudors in England, and to make the English Church 
more like the Calvinistic churches in Scotland and on the Con- 
tinent. They disliked surplices and other vestments worn by the 
clergy, which they pronounced "badges of popery," the sign of 
the cross used in baptism, and like customs retained in the Church 
as established by law. Many of them became opposed to the 
whole prelatical organization. They did not admit the supremacy 
of the sovereign, as Elizabeth claimed it, in things having to do 
with the Church and religion. Many of the Puritans conformed 
to the existing system of Church government and worship, but 
under a protest and with the hope of seeing it changed. Others 
were nonconformists ; that is, they did not formally break off 
from«the English Church, but avoided taking part in the forms 
of worship of which they disapproved. This class was numerous. 
A third and smaller class, the " Independents," separated from the 
Established Church, and disbelieved in national churches, or a 
national organization of religion, altogether. They formed reli- 
gious societies of their own. Thus English Protestants were 
divided among themselves. Upon both Puritans and Roman 
Catholics — upon the latter, partly on political grounds — severe 
penalties were inflicted. Churchman and Puritan, while they 
agreed substantially in theology, stood at variance in regard to 
Church government and modes of worship. 



REIGN OF JAxMES I. 435 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION AND THE COMMONWEALTH 

(1603-1658). 

James I. — James VI. of Scotland, and /. of England, was the 
son of Mary Stuart and Darnley. Scotland and England were 
now united under one king. He was not wanting in acquirements, 
and plumed himself on his knowledge of theology. A conceited 
pedant, he was impatient of dissent from his opinions. In Scot- 
land, among insubordinate nobles and the ministers of the Kirk, — 
who on one occasion went so far as to pull his sleeve when they 
addressed to him their rebukes, — he had hardly tasted the sweets 
of regal power. The deference with which the English clergy 
treated him deepened his attachment to their Church. He had 
high notions of the divine right of kings. " No bishop, no king," 
was his favorite maxim. Early, in the Hampton Court Conference 
between the bishops and the Puritans, over which James presided^ 
he showed his antipathy to the Puritans. It may be here stated, that 
a suggestion there made led to the making of the Authorized Ver- 
sion of the Bible, for which previous translations, especially the 
translation of Tyndale, furnished the basis. The king's severity 
to the Catholics was the occasion of the " Gunpowder Plot," a 
project that failed, for blowing up the Parliament House by means 
of powder placed under it, to which one Guy Fawkes was to apply 
the match (1605). 

Ireland. — The Earl of Tyrone, an Irish chief, fell into a dis- 
pute with the English authorities, and, with another Irish earl, fled 
to Spain. The best of their lands in Ulster were given to Enghsh 
and Scotch colonists. Only what was left of the land was granted 
to the Irish, many of whom were dispossessed of their homes. 
The Ulster colonies were industrious and prosperous ; but among 
the natives, seeds of lasting enmity were sown by this injustice. 

James's Foreign Policy. — The nation became imbittered 
against the king. One. grievance was the sale not only of patents 
of nobility, but also of monopolies to companies or individuals. 
This was a continuance of an old abuse. The trial and conviction 
of Lord Bacon, the Lord Chancelor, who was impeached on the 
charge of receiving presents which were intended to influence his 
decisions as a judge, was one evidence of the corruption of the 
times, and of the displeasure occasioned by it. Instead of aiding 
his son-in-law, Fi-ederick V., the Elector Palatine, whose dominions 
had been seized by a Spanish army sent to aid his enemies, Jaines 
busied himself with schemes for marrying his son Charles to the 
Infanta, or Princess, Maria of Spain, the sister of Philip IV. As 
a part of his truckling to Spain, he caused Sir Walter Raleigh to 



436 MODERN HISTORY. 

be executed. Raleigh, who had no love for Spain, had long been 
kept in the Tower on the charge of treason ; but the king, who 
wanted gold, had permitted him to go on a voyage to South 
America to seek for it. There, without his fault, some of his men 
had a collision with the Spaniards, up . the Orinoco. Not having 
procured any treasure, he was disposed to attack Spanish ships ; 
but the captains with him would not consent. On his return to 
England, he was again thrown into prison, and brought to the block. 
At length the marriage treaty with Spain, to the joy of the nation, 
was broken off. Charles, it was agreed, should marry Henrietta 
Maria, the sister of Louis XIII., the king of France. The king 
came to a better understanding with Parliament, which had con- 
stantly opposed his policy and withstood his arrogant assumption 
of absolute authority. 

Charles I. (1625-1649). — Charles I. in dignity of person far 
excelled his father. He had more skill and more courage ; but he 
had the same theory of arbitrary government, and acted as if in- 
sincerity and the breaking of promises were excusable in defense 
of it. His strife with Parliament began at once. They would not 
grant supplies of money without a redress of grievances and the 
removal of Buckingham, the king's favorite. War had begun with 
Spain before the close of the last reign. An expedition was now 
sent to Cadiz, but it accomplished nothing. Buckingham was 
impeached ; but before the trial ended, the king dissolved Parlia- 
ment. A year later he went to war with France. He was then 
obliged (1628) to grant to his third Parliament their Petition of 
Right, which condemned his recent illegal doings, — arbitrary taxes 
and imprisonment, the billeting of soldiers on householders, pro- 
ceedings of martial law. A few months later Bicckingham was assas- 
sinated by one John Felton at Portsmouth. Certain taxes called 
tonnage and poundage, Charles continued to levy by his own au- 
thority. A patriotic leader and a prominent speaker in the House 
of Commons was Sir John Eliot. The king dissolved Parliament 
(1629), and sent Eliot ai\d two other members of the House to 
prison. No other Parliament was summoned for eleven years. The 
king aimed to establish an absolute system of rule such as Richelieu 
had built up in France. Two ministers were employed by him in 
furthering this policy. One was a layman, IVentioorth, Earl of 
Strafford, who exercised almost unlimited power m the northern 
counties. The other was William Laud, Bishop of London and 
then x\rchbishop of Canterbury (1633), who undertook to force 
the Puritans to conform to all the observances of the Church. 
Two courts — the Nigh Com?nission, before which the clergy were 
brought ; and the Star Chamber, which was made up from the 
king's council — were the instruments for carrying out this tyranny. 
Grievous and shameful punishments were inflicted on the victims 
of it. 



THE CIVIL WAR IN ENGLAND. 437 

John Hampden. — There was need of a fleet. Charles, with- 
out asking any grant from ParHament, undertook to levy a tax 
called " ship-rnoney " in every shire. John Hampden, a country 
gentleman, refused to pay it. The judges gave a verdict against 
him, but he won great applause from patriotic Englishmen. 

Beginning of the Long Parliament. — In 1637 Charles em- 
barked in the foolish enterprise of endeavoring to force the Eng- 
lish liturgy upon Scotland. This called out the Solemn League 
and Covenant of the Scots for the defense of Presbyterianism. 
For eleven years the king had governed without a Parliament, but 
he needed money. The " Short Parliament " was assembled ; but, 
as it refused to obey the king, it was quickly dissolved. The inva- 
sion of the Scots in 1640 made it necessary for Charles to assem- 
ble that body known as the Long Parliament, one of the most 
memorable of all legislative assemblies. Strafford and Laud were 
impeached. Strafford, by a bill of attainder passed by both 
Houses, was condemned and executed (1641). It was enacted 
that the present Parliament should not be dissolved or prorogued 
without its own consent, — an act which Charles reluctantly sanc- 
tioned. The Star Chamber and High Commission Courts were 
aboUshed. A great Irish insurrection broke out in Ulster. It has 
already been related how Henry VILL. established in Ireland his 
ecclesiastical system ; how, during Elizabeth^ s reign, there was 
fierce and incessant war with the Desmonds, and other Anglo-Irish 
families, who resisted Protestantism ; and how James /., robbing 
many Irish of their lands, planted in Ulster numerous English and 
Scotch Protestant settlers. These were now massacred in great 
numbers by the Irish, who almost succeeded in seizing Dublin. 
Parliament would not trust Charles with an army to use in Ireland, 
fearing that the troops would be used by him to defend his arbi- 
trary government at home. The king came to the House of Com- 
mons with a body of armed men, and made an abortive attempt 
to seize five members on the charge of resisting his authority, 
among whom were John Hampden, and John Pym, who was one 
of the most influential orators on the popular side. A bill was 
passed excluding the bishops from the House of Lords, where a 
majority were for the king. To this Charles consented, but he 
refused to allow Parliament to control the militia. 

The Civil War: Success of CromwelL — In July, 1642, Par- 
liament appointed a Committee of Public Safety, and called out 
the militia. Soon Charles raised the royal standard at Notting- 
ham. In the civil war, on one side were the Royalists, who were 
familiarly styled cavaliers (that is, horsemen, or gentlemen), and 
on the other were the Parliamentarians, who were nicknamed 
Roundheads, for the reason that the Puritans did not follow the 
fashion of allowing their hair to fall in tresses on the shoulders. 



438 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Earl of Essex, the Parliamentary general, fought an inde- 
cisive battle with the king at Edgehill. Charles then made Oxford 
his headquarters. Early in the war, two men of spotless character 
fell, — Hampden, on the popular side (1643), and Lord Falkland 
(1643), who, not without hesitation, had joined the Royalists. The 
cavalry of Charles, under a gallant but rash leader, Prince Rupert, 
son of the Electress Palatine, and grandson of fa?}ies I., was 
specially effective. Charles made peace with the Irish insurgents 
in order to get their help in fighting Parhament. Parliament united 
with the Scots in the Solemn League and Covenant, by which there 
was to be uniformity in religion in England, Ireland, and Scotland. 

Presbyterians and Independents. — Fresbyterianis?n was now 
made the legal system ; and about two thousand beneficed clergy- 
men in England, who refused to subscribe to the Covenant, were 
deprived of their livings. The Westminster Assembly met in 
1643, ^i^cl organized a church system without bishops and without 
the liturgy. But Parhament did not give up its own supremacy in 
ecclesiastical affairs. There was no "General Assembly" to rule 
the Church, as in Scotland. Another party, the Lndependents, 
were gaining strength, and by degrees getting control in the army. 
Of their number was Oliver Cromwell, a gentleman of Hunting- 
donshire, who had been a member of the House of Commons, 
where he spoke for the first time in 1629. 

Cromwell : Naseby. — By many of his adversaries, and by nu- 
merous writers since that day, Crojnwell has been considered a 
hypocrite in religion, actuated by personal ambition. The Puritan 
poet, John Milton, who became his secretary after he acquired 
supreme power, gives to him the warmest praise for integrity and 
piety, as well as for genius and valor. Of his religious earnestness 
after the Puritan type, and of his sincere patriotism, there is at 
present much less doubt. As to the transcendent ability and 
sagacity that lay beneath a rugged exterior, there has never 
been any question. He raised and trained a regiment of Puritan 
troops, called the " Lronsides," who were well-nigh invincible in 
battle, but whose camp was a " conventicle " for prayer and praise. 
With their help, the Royalists were defeated at Marston Moor 
(1644). The army was now modeled anew by the Independents. 
The Self-denying Ordinance excluded members of Parliament 
from military command. Ci'omwell was made an exception. He 
came to the front, with no other general except Fairfax, who had 
replaced Essex, above him. Lazid was condemned for high trea- 
son by an ordinance of Parhament, and beheaded (1645). The 
Royalist army experienced a crushing defeat at Naseby in June of 
the same year. 

Trial and Execution of Charles. — Charles surrendered to the 
army of the Scots before Newark (1646) ; and by them he was 



THE COMMONWEALTH IN ENGLAND. 439 

delivered for a ransom, in the form of an indemnity for war 
expenses, to their English allies. The king hoped much from the 
growing discord between the Presbyterians, who favored an ac- 
commodation with him if they could preserve their ecclesiastical 
system ; and the Independents, who controlled the army, and were 
in favor of toleration, and of obtaining more guaranties of liberty 
against regal usurpation. In June, 1647, '^^^ army took the king 
out of the hands of Parliament, into their own custody. He 
negotiated with all parties, and was trusted by none. In 1648 he 
agreed, in a secret treaty with the Scots, to restore Presbyterianism. 
There were Royalist risings in different parts of England, which 
Cromwell suppressed. He defeated at Preston Pans a Scotch 
army, led into England by the Duke of Hamilton to help Charles. 
CromweWs army were now determined to baffle the plans of the 
Parliamentary majority. Col. Pride, with a regiment of foot, ex- 
cluded from the House of Commons about a hundred members. 
This measure, dictated by a council of officers, was called Pride's 
Purge. The Commons closed the House of Lords, and consti- 
tuted a High Court of Justice for the trial of the king. He 
refused to acknowledge the tribunal, and behaved with calmness 
and dignity to the end. He was condemned, and beheaded on a 
scaffold before his own palace at Whitehall, Jan. 30, 1649. By 
one party he was execrated as a tyrant, whose life was a constant 
danger to freedom. By the other party he was revered as a 
martyr. His two eldest sons were Charles, born in 1630, and 
James, born in 1633. 

The Commonwealth. — The monarchy was now abolished ; and 
England was a free commonwealth, governed by the House of 
Commons. A council of state, under the presidency of Bradshaw, 
who had presided at the trial of the king, was appointed to carry 
on the government. In Ireland, a rebellion in behalf of young 
Charles, son of the late king, was organized by Butler, Marquis of 
Ormond (1649). I^ ^i^^ months Cromwell subdued it, treating 
the insurgents with unsparing severity. There was a savage mas- 
sacre of the garrisons at Drogheda and Wexford. The massacre at 
Drogheda was by his orders. Soldiers of Parliament were settled 
in Munster, Leinster, and Ulster. The country was reduced to 
complete subjection. In 1650 Charles landed in Scotland, sub- 
scribed to the Covenant, and was proclaimed king. Cromwell 
fought the Scots at Dunbar, and totally routed them. Returning 
to England, he overtook Charles and his army at Worcester, and 
defeated them (1651). Cromwell called this victory "a crowning 
mercy." Charles escaped in disguise, and, after strange perils and 
adventures, landed in Normandy. 

War with Holland. — England, under its new government, en- 
gaged in a contest for dominion on the sea. The new order of 



440 MODERN HISTORY. 

things, contrary to the expectation of Cromwell, was regarded with 
hostihty in Holland, where the Orange family were in power. In 
165 1 the English Navigation Act, requiring all goods from abroad 
to be brought in, either in English ships, or in ships of the coun- 
tries on the Continent in which the imported wares were produced, 
struck a heavy blow at Dutch commerce. War followed, in which 
the great Dutch admirals. Van Tromp, De Ruyter, De Witt, found 
more than a match in the English commander, Blake. The terms 
of peace were dictated by Cromwell, and Holland had to attach 
itself to his policy (1654). 

The Lord Protector. — There was a growing discord between 
the unworthy remnant of the Parliament — now called the " Rump 
Parliament " — and the army. In 1653 Cromwell used his military 
force to dissolve the assembly. By the " Little Parliament " which 
he called together, he was constituted Lord Protector, with a 
Council of State composed of twenty-five members. Later he de- 
clined the title of king, out of respect to the feehngs and prejudices 
of his party. But he reigned in state, and exercised regal functions. 
His attempts to restore the old forms of parliamentary government, 
in an orderly form, with two houses, were baffled by difficulties 
beyond control. He insisted on a large degree of toleration, so 
long as " religion was not made a pretense for arms and blood," 

Cromwell's Government. — Under the Protector, England once 
more took the proud and commanding place in Europe which she 
had not held since the death of Elizabeth. Cro^nwell made his 
power to be everywhere respected. Blake chastised the pirates of 
the Barbary States, and punished the Duke of Tuscany for attacks 
on English commerce. In x^i^^^ Jamaica was wrested from Spain; 
and, two years after, Blake burned the Spanish treasure-ships in the 
harbor of Santa Cruz, in Teneriffe. Cromwell efficiently protected 
the adherents of the Protestant faith in Piedmont, and wherever 
they were subjected to persecution. In the last year of his life, in 
conjunction with the French, he took Dunkirk from the Spaniards. 

Power of Cromwell. — Cromwell's power was not diminished 
in his closing years. Macaulay, who pronounces him the greatest 
prince that ever ruled England, says of him, " It is certain that he 
was to the last honored by his soldiers, obeyed by the whole popu- 
lation of the British Isles, and dreaded by all foreign powers ; that 
he was laid among the ancient sovereigns of England with funeral 
pomp such as England had never before seen ; and that he was 
succeeded by his son, Richard as quietly as any king had ever 
been succeeded by any Prince of Wales." (1658). 

The talents of Cromwell, and the vigor of his administration, deeply im- 
pressed those who heartily disliked him. A strong illustration of this fact 
is presented in the character of the Protector as depicted by Lord Clarejidon, 
in the History of the Great Rebellio7i; and by the poet Cowley in his essay or 
Discourse. 



COLONIZATION IN AMERICA. 441 



CHAPTER X. 

COLONIZATION IN AMERICA: ASIATIC NATIONS; CUL- 
TURE AND LITERATURE (1517-1648). 

COLONIZATION IN AMERICA. 

The European nations kept up their religious and political 
rivalship in exploring and colonizing the New World. 

French Explorers. — The French and English sent their iisher- 
men to the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. French 
fishermen from Breton gave its name to Cape Breton. Francis I. 
sent out Verrazano, an Italian sailor, who is thought to have 
cruised along the coast of North America from Cape Fear north- 
ward (1524). Later, Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence 
as far as the site of Montreal (1535) ; other expeditions followed, 
and thus was founded the claim of the French to that region. 

Spanish Explorers. — The Spaniards brought negroes from the 
coast of Africa to the West Indies, to take the place of the Indi- 
ans ; and thus the slave-trade and negro slavery were established. 
They gave the name of Florida to a vast region stretching from 
the Atlantic to Mexico, and from the Gulf of Mexico to an un- 
defined limit in the North. From Tampa Bay, in what we now 
call Florida, they sent into this unexplored region an expedition 
under Narvaez (1528); and afterwards, on the same track, an- 
other party led by Hernando de Soto (1539), which made its way 
to the Mississippi near the present site of Vicksburg. Tempted 
by tales of rich cities, Coronado led an army to the conquest of 
the pueblos of the south-west. He penetrated as far as the 
boundary of the present Nebraska. 

Contest in Florida. — The great Huguenot leader, Coligny, 
made three attempts to found Huguenot settlements in America. 
He wanted to provide for them an asylum, and to extend the 
power of France. One company went to Brazil, and failed ; a 
second perished at Por-t Royal m Florida; a third (1564) built 
Foi't Caroline on the shores of the St. John. This last company 
was mercilessly slaughtered by Menendcz, the leader of a Spanish 
expedition which founded St. Augustine (1565), the oldest town 
in the United States. The act was avenged by the massacre of 
the Spanish settlers at Fort Caroline, by Doniiniqtce de Gourgues 
and the French company that came over with him. 

English Voyages. — The English, full of zeal for maritime dis- 
covery, tried to find a north-west passage to Asia. This was 
attempted by Martin Frobisher, a sea-captain, from whom Fro- 
bisher's Strait takes its name. After him followed John Davis, 
who gave his name also to a strait. As the English grew stronger 
and bolder on the water, they ceased to avoid a contest with 



442 MODERN HISTORY. 

Spain. In 1577 Sir Francis D?'ake s&X. out from the harbor of 
Plymouth on his voyage around the globe. The defeat of the 
Spanish Armada occurred in 1588 ; and after that the English 
felt themselves to be stronger than their old adversary. 

Gilbert and Raleigh. — Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1583, took 
possession of Newfoundland in the name of the queen of England. 
Walter Raleigh, his half-brother, on his voyage in 1584, visited 
Roanoke Island, and named the whole country between the French 
and the Spanish possessions, Virginia, in honor of "the Virgin 
Queen," Elizabeth. A colony which he sent out to Roanoke 
(1585) failed, and a second settlement had no better result. 
Bartholomew Gosnold landed on Cape Cod, and cruised along the 
neighboring coast (1602). 

The French in Canada. — In 1603 Chai7tplain, a. French gen- 
tleman, sailed to Canada, whither the fur-trade enticed explor- 
ers. A few years later he founded Quebec (1608), and explored 
the country as far as Lake Hut-on. The Jesuit missionaries com- 
menced their efforts to convert the Indian tribes, in which they 
evinced an almost unparalleled fortitude and perseverance. The 
Huron and Algonquin Indians helped Champlain gain a victory 
over the hostile and warlike Iroquois, who afterwards hated the 
French. The French occupants of the country of the St. Law- 
rence devoted themselves too exclusively to trading, and too little 
to the tilling of the ground and to the forming of a community. 

The Dutch Settlements. — The Dutch were as eager as the 
other maritime powers to find a passage to India. In 1609 an 
English captain in their service, Henry Hudson, balked in this 
endeavor, sailed up the river now called by his name. The next 
year, being in the service of an English company, he discovered 
Hicdson's Bay. Amstet'dam traders established themselves on the 
island of Manhattan (an Indian name) ; which led to the forma- 
tion of the New Netherlands Company, by whom a fort ( Orange) 
was built at the place afterwards called Albany ( 1 6 1 5 ) . The West 
India Company followed (1621), with authority owqx New Nether- 
lands, as the country was called The powerful land-owners were 
styled patroons. Their territory reached to Delaware Bay ; and 
they had a trading-post on the Connecticut, on the site of the 
present city of Hartford. 

In 1637 the Swedes made a settlement at the mouth of the Delaware 
River, but in 1655 they were subdued by the Dutch. 

Settlement of Virginia. — The Virginia Company, divided into 
two branches, — the London Company, having control in the South, 
and the Plymouth Company, having control in the North, — received 
its patent of privileges ixoxix James /. (i6o(). A settlement by 
the Plymouth Company on the Kennebec River (1607) — the 



COLONIZATION IN AMERICA. 443 

Popham Colony — was given up. In 1607 James lown in Virginia, 
as the name Virginia is now applied, was settled. A majority 
of the first colonists were gentlemen not wonted to labor. The 
military leader was Capt. John Smith, whose life, according to his 
own account, was spared by Powhatan, an Indian chief. Pow- 
hatan's daughter Pocahontas married Rolfe, an Englishman. The 
Jamestown colony seemed likely to become extinct, when, in 16 10, 
Lord Delaivare arrived with fresh supplies and colonists. He was 
the first of a series of governors who ruled with almost unlimited 
authority. But the colony grew to be more independent, and in 
sympathy with the popular party in England. In 16 19 the House 
of Burgesses first met, which brought in government by the peo- 
ple. At this time negroes began to be imported from Africa, and 
sold as slaves. 

The Pilgrim Settlement. — The first permanent settlement in 
New England ^"Si-i made zX Plymouth in 1620, by a company of 
English Christians, who landed from the " Mayflower." They 
were Puritans of that class called " Independents," who had sepa- 
rated from the English Church, and did not believe in any national 
church organization; The emigrants left Leyden, in Holland, where 
they had lived for some time in exile, and where the remainder of 
their congregation remained under the guidance of a learned and 
able ^dslox, John Robinson. In the harbor of Provincetoivn, they 
agreed to a compact of government. Their civil poHty was repub- 
lican ; their church polity was Congregational. They endured with 
heroic and pious fortitude the severities of the first winter, when 
half of their number died. Their military leader was Capt. Miles 
Standish. In their dealings with the Indians, they were equally 
just and brave. 

Settlement of Massachusetts. — Somewhat different in its origin 
and character from the " Pilgrim " settlement at Plymouth, was 
the other Purrtan settlement of Massachusetts. The emigrants to 
Massachusetts were not separatists from the Church of England, 
but more conservative Puritans who desired, however, many ecclesi- 
astical changes which they could not obtain at home. Both classes 
of settlers, transferred to Ne^a England, found no difficulty in 
agreeing in religious matters ; for when left free, they desired about 
the same things. But at Plytnouth there was more toleration for 
religious dissent than in the later colony. In 1629 certain Lon- 
don merchants formed a corporation called " the Governor and 
Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England," and re- 
ceived a charter directly from Charles I. They sent out John 
Endicott to be governor of a settlement already formed at Salem. 
Charles had dissolved Parliament, and was beginning the experi- 
ment of absolutism. The new company was strengthened by the 
accession of a large number of Puritan gentlemen who were 



444 MODERN HISTORY. 

anxious to emigrate. They resolved to transfer the company and 
its government to the shores of America. John Winthrop was 
chosen governor, and in 1630 landed at Charlestown with a large 
body of settlers. Wiiiihrop and his associates soon removed to 
the peninsula of Boston. The new colony was well provided with 
artisans. Soon ships began to be built. In 1636 a college, named 
in 1639, i^ honor of a benefactor, Harvard, was founded at Cam- 
bridge. At first all the voters met together to choose their rulers 
and frame their laws. As the towns increased in number, a Gen- 
eral Coiu't, or legislative assembly, was established by the colony, 
in which each town was represented. Each town had its church, 
and only church-members voted. The General Court superin- 
tended the affairs of both town and church. The political troubles 
in England stimulated emigration. Within ten years, about twenty 
thousand Englishmen, mainly Puritans, crossed the Atlantic, and 
took up their abode in New England. In the ecclesiastical system 
.each church was self-governing, except as the Geiteral Court was 
over all. There were no bishops, and the liturgy was dispensed 
with in worship. 

Settlement of Connecticut. — After the Dutch had built a 
trading-post on the site of Haj-tford, people from Plymouth 
formed a settlement at Windsor, on the Connecticut, six miles 
above. From Boston and its neighborhood, there was a migration 
which settled Hartford. In 1637 the three towns of Windsor, 
Wethersfield, and Hai'tford became the distinct colony of Con- 
necticut. A colony led by the younger John Winthrop, under a 
patent given to Lord Say and Sele and Lord Brook, drove away 
the Dutch from the mouth of the Connecticut, and settled Say- 
brook (1635). This colony was afterwards united with the Con- 
necticut colony. A third colony was established at New Haven 
(1638), which had an independent existence until 1662. 

Settlement of Rhode Island, of Nevr Hampshire, and of Maine, 
— Roger Williams, a minister who was not allowed to live in 
Massachusetts, on account of his differences with the magistrates, 
was the founder of Rhode Lsland (1636). He held that the State 
should leave matters of religious opinion and worship to the 
conscience of the individual, and confine government to secular 
concerns. This was not the view of the Puritans generally ; and 
the incoming of dissenters from their religious and political system 
made them afraid that the colony would be broken up, or fall into 
disorder. Williams, in most of his qualities a noble man, obtained 
a patent for his government, which was framed in accordance 
with his liberal ideas. On lands granted by the Plymouth Com- 
pany to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, settlements were made in New 
Hampshire and in Maine (1623). A line between the two was 
drawn in 1631 ; Gorges taking the territory on the east of the 
Piscataqua River, and Ca.i^t. John Mason taking the remainder. 



COLONIES IN AMERICA. 445 

Virginia. — After 1624 the king appointed the governor in 
Virginia, which, however, had its own assembly. The colony 
grew rapidly, its chief export being tobacco. The people lived 
on their estates or plantations, employing indented servants and 
negro slaves. 

Maryland. — Maryland was founded by George Calvert, Lord 
Baltimore, a Roman Catholic, to whom Charles I. granted a 
charter (1632). The first settlement was made by Calvert's sons, 
afte-r his death. They planted a colony near the mouth of the 
Potomac. The Calverts sent out both Puritans and Roman Catho- 
lics, and secured the safety of the adherents of their own faith by 
the grant of toleration to the Protestants. Under Cromwell, a 
Puritan governor was appointed by Lord Baltimore (1649). 
There were boundary disputes with Virginia ; and Claybonie, a 
Puritan and a Virginian, at one time got control of the govern- 
ment, which the Calverts regained under Charles II. (1660). 

New England : New York. — During the war between king and 
Parliament in England, the Puritan colonies were in sympathy 
with the popular party, but were cautious in their avowals. They 
took great pains to prevent the king, and later the Parliament 
under the Commonwealth, from taking away their self-government. 
The English navigation acts, which forbade them to use foreirn 
ships for their trade and forced them to send nearly all their 
products to EngUsh ports, were a grievance to them. The rivalries 
of the English and the Dutch gave the colonists a chance to expel 
the Dutch from Connecticut. Charles II. at length conquered New 
Netherland, and ceded this territory to his brother, the Duke of 
York, afterwards James 11. New Amsterdam became New York, 
and Foi-t Orange became Albany. In 1674 the country was for- 
mally ceded to England by Holland. 

Tlie Indians. — When America was discovered, Mexico, Central 
America, and Peru were empires, to a considerable degree civilized. 
Relics taken from the mounds of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys 
indicate, also, that races somewhat advanced in culture had once 
dwelt in those regions. The most of both continents was inhab- 
ited by very numerous tribes of Indians, who were savages, with 
the ordinary virtues and vices of savage life. They were brave 
and patient, but indolent, treacherous, and implacable. There 
was an immense variety of dialects among them, yet there are 
traces of a common original unity of language. The tribes had 
no fixed boundaries, but roamed over extensive hunting-grounds. 
The Iroquois, or the Six Nations, occupied central New York from 
the Hudson to the Genesee. The Algonquins were spread over 
nearly all the rest of the country on the east of the Mississippi 
River, and north of North Carolina. The Creeks, Choc taws, and 
Chickasaws were in the South. 



446 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Whites and the Red Men. — It was fortunate for the 
settlers of New England, that, before their arrival, the Indians 
had been much reduced in numbers by pestilence. Sometimes 
they were treated wisely and humanely, and efforts were made by 
noble men Yike John Eliot (i 604-1 690), who has been called 
"the Apostle to the Indians," to teach and civilize them. But 
this spirit was not always shown by the whites, and wrongs done 
by an individual are avenged by savages upon his race. The first 
important conflict between the English and the Indians was the 
Pequot War (1636), when the English, helped by the Narra- 
gansetts, who were under the influence of Roger Williams, crushed 
the Pequots, who were a dangerous tribe. A league between the 
New-England colonies, for mutual counsel and aid, followed 
(1643). Ii'^to this \t^.^Q., Massachusetts would not d^o^ Rhode 
Island, whose constitution was disliked, to be admitted. There 
were to be two commissioners to represent each colony in common 
meetings. 

SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, LITERATURE. 

Astronomy. — In this period wonderful progress was made in astronomy. 
Copernicus, a German or Polish priest (1473-1543), detected the error of 
the Ptolemaic system, which made not the sun, but the earth, the center of the 
solar system. Thus a revolution was made in that science. Tyclio Brake, a 
Danish astronomer (i 546-1601), was a most accurate and indefatigable ob- 
server, although he did not adopt the Copernican theory. His pupil Kepler 
(i 571-1630) discovered those great principles respecting the orbits and mo- 
tions of the planets, which are called the "Laws of Kepler." Galileo (1564- 
1642), the Italian scientist, in addition to important discoveries in mechanics, 
with the telescopes, which his ingenuity had constructed, discerned the moons 
of Jupiter, and made other striking discoveries in the heavens. In promul- 
gating the Copernican doctrine, he incurred the displeasure of ecclesiastics, 
and was driven by the Inquisition to renounce his opinion. It was reserved 
for Sir Isaac Nezvtoii (1643-1727) to discover the law of gravitation. 

Jurisprudence. — In jurisprudence, the Roman law was more and more 
studied in universities. In political science, Bodin, a learned Frenchman 
(i 530-1 596), wrote a work on the State, advocating a strong monarchy. In 
the Netherlands, Hugo Grotiiis (i 583-1645), a great jurist and scholar, was 
one of the principal founders of the science of International Lazu. An emi- 
nent expounder of natural and international law in Germany was Pitfendorf 
(1 632-1 694). 

Historical Writings. — In \\\'s>Xox^, Sleidan, a German (i 506-1 556), and 
later a learned statesman, Secketidorf (1626-1692), wrote histories of the 
Reformation. De T/ion, a Frenchman (i 553-1617), wrote a valuable history 
of his own times. Grotius dtscrWi&d the war for independence in the Nether- 
lands. Church history, on the Protestant side, was written by a company of 
authors called the Magdehin-g Centiiriators ; and on the Catholic side, in the 
Annals of Baronius (who died in 1607). In the Tower of London, Sir 
Walter Raleigh employed himself in writing a History of the World, remark- 
able, if not for its researches, for passages of noble eloquence. In Italy, histo- 
rians followed in the path opened by Machiavelli, through his Discourses on 
Livy 2.nd his Florentine History. Davila (1576-1631) composed a narrative 
of the Civil Wars in France, and the Cardinal Bentivoglio wrote the history 
of the Civil War in the Netherlands. Sarpi, a keen Venetian, of much inde- 
pendence of thought, related the history of the Council of Trent, which was 



SCIENCE AND LITERATURE. 447 

followed by a history of the same Council by the more orthodox Pallavicini. 
In Spain, there was at least one historian of superior value, Mariana, who 
composed a history of his own country. 

Medicine. — Medicine felt the benefit of the revival of learning. Hippo- 
crates and Gale7i were studied, and were translated into Latin. Paracelsus, a 
German physician (1493-1541), besides broaching various theories more or 
less visionary, advanced the science on the chemical side, introducing certain 
mineral remedies. Vesalitis, a native of Brussels (1514-1564), who became 
chief physician of Charles V. and Philip II., dissected the human body, and 
produced the first comprehensive and systematic view of anatomy. In the 
sixteenth century -clinical instruction was introduced into hospitals. Harvey, 
an English physician (1578-1657), discovered the circulation of the blood. In 
the seventeenth century activity in medical study was shown by the rise of 
various discordant systems. 

Philosophy. — In philosophy, Aristotle continued to be the master in the 
most conservative schools, where the old ways of thinking were cherished. 
His ethical doctrines were especially attacked by Luther. Giordano Bruno, 
an Italian, not without genius, promulgated a theory of pantheism, which 
identified the Deity with the world. He wandered from land to land, was a 
vehement assailant of received religious views, and was burned at the stake 
at Rome (1600). In some gifted minds, the conflict of doctrinal systems, and 
the influence of the Renaissance, engendered skepticism. jMontaigne (1533- 
1592), the genial essayist on men and manners, the Plutarch of Prance, is an 
example of this class. The opposition to Aristotle and to the schoolmen 
founctagreat leader in the English philosopher, Francis Bacon (1561-1626). 
The influence of Lord Bacon was more in stimulating to the use of the in- 
ductive method, the method of observation, than in any special value belong- 
ing to the rules laid down for it. He pointed out the path of fruitful investi- 
gation. Hobbes (158S-1679), an English writer, propounded, in his Leviathan 
(1651) and in other writings, his theory of the absolute authority of the king, 
and the related doctrine that right is founded on the necessity of " a common 
power," if the desires are to be gratified, and if endless destructive conten- 
tion is to be avoided. From the epoch of Bacon, the natural and physical 
sciences acquire a new importance. In metaphysical science, the modern 
epoch dates from Descartes (i 596-1 650), born in France, who insisted that 
philosophy must assume nothing, but must start with the proposition, " I 
think, therefore I am." Before, philosophy had been " the handmaid of the- 
ology." It had taken for granted a body of beliefs respecting God, man, and 
the world. Descartes was a theist. Spinoza (1632-1677), of Jewish extrac- 
tion, born in Holland, is the founder of modern pantheism. He taught that 
there is but one substance ; that God and the world — the totality of things — 
are the manifestation of one impersonal being. 

Literature in Italy. — In Italy, among many authors in different depart- 
ments of poetry, Tasso (1544- 1595), the author of the epic Jertcsalem Deliv- 
ered, is the most eminent. In it, the classic and the romantic styles are com- 
bined ; the spirit of the Middle Ages blends with the unity and harmony of 
Homer and Virgil. In the seventeenth century, under the hard Spanish rule, 
the literary spirit in Italy was chilled. 

Literature in Spain and Portugal. — In Spain, it was poetry and the 
drama that chiefly flourished. Other sorts of literary activity were stifled 
with the extinction of liberty. Lope de Vega (i 562-1635), one of the most 
facile and marvelous of all poets, the author of twenty-two hundred dramas, — 
was the precursor of a school. After him came C'alderon (1600-1681), who 
carried the Spanish drama to its perfection. Early in the seventeenth cen- 
tury Ce7-vantes publislied the classic tale of Don Quixote, " to render abhorred 
of men the false and absurd stories contained in books of chivalry," an end 
which he accomplished. Mariana's (i 536-1623) vivid and interesting His- 
tory of Spain was continued in a less attractive style by Sandoval. Herrera 



448 



MODERN HISTORY. 



( 1 549-1625) composed a General History of the Indies. Other works relat- 
ing to the New World and the Spanish conquests were written. In the 
production of proverbs, the Spanish mind is without a rival. Not the least 
of the bad effects of the despotic system of Philip II. was the decay of 
literature. 

The most celebrated writer of Portugal is the poet Camoens (i 524-1 579), 
who, in his epic the Lzcsiad, has treated of the glorious events in the history 
of his country, giving special prominence to the discovery by Vascoda Gama of 
the passage to India. 

Literature in France. — In France, with the exception of Montaigne, it 
was Rabelais (1495-1553), a physician, philosopher, and humorist, who, not- 
withstanding his profanity and obscenity, was the most popular author of 
his day, and who well represents the tone of the Renaissance in that country. 
Ronsard (i 524-1585), an imitator of the Latins and Greeks, was the favorite 
poet of Ma7y, Queen of Scots. In the first half of the seventeenth century 
the light literature of the French is ruled by fashion, and is void of serious 
feeling. In this time the literary societies of France take their rise. Afrt- 
damede Rambouillet {1^88-166^)), 3. lady oi Italian birth, set the example in 
establishing such reunions. She made her hotel a resort for writers and 
politicians. Being an invalid, she kept her bed, which was placed in an 
alcove of the salo)i where she received her visitors. 

Literature in England. — In England, in the age of Elizabeth, there is 
a galaxy of great authors in prose and verse. The events and debates of the 
Reformation, the voyages and geographical discoveries of the period, gave 
a powerful quickening to thought and imagination. The Renaissance cul- 
ture, which made familiar the stories of Greek and Roman mythology, an \ 
the romantic tales and poetry of Italy and Spain, vi'as ]5otent in its effect. 
Some of the numerous theological writers, as Bishop Hall (i 574-1656), Jer- 
emy Taylor (1613-1667), and Richard Hooker (1553-1600), have gained a high 
place in general literature. Bacon, apart from his philosophical writings, 
towers above almost all his contemporaries in the field of letters. The chiv- 
alrous Sir Philip Sidney (i 554-1 586) wrote the pastoral romance of Arca- 
dia. Burton (i 576-1640), the author of The Anatomy of Melancholy, and 
Sir Thomas Broivn, who published (1642) the Religio Medici (the religion 
of a physician) and, at a later date, the Urn Burial, are quaint and original 
authors. The merit of Shakspeare (i 564-1616) is so exalted and unique 
that he almost eclipses even the greatest names. The English drama did 
not heed what are called the classic unities of time and place, which limit 
the action of a play to a brief duration and a contracted area. Other 
celebrated dramatic writers are Beatimont (1586-1615) and Fletcher (1579- 
1625), who wrote many plays jointly; Ben Jonson (i 574-1 637), and Massin- 
ger ( 1 584-1640). The imaginative poetry which is not dramatic, in this 
period, begins with Spenser (i 553-1 599), whose Faerie Queene is a poem of 
chivalry; and it ends with Milton (1608-1674), the Puritan poet, imbued with 
the culture of the Renaissance, whose majesty and beauty place him almost 
on a level, at least in the esteem of readers of the English race, with Dante. 
Among the religious poets is George Herbert (i 593-1635). One of the most 
famous of the lyric authors was the last of them, Coiuley (1618-1667). 

Literature in Germany. — In Germany, the great literary product of 
this period was Luther'' s translation of the Bible. The ijn?nediate effect of the 
controversy in religion was not favorable to the cause of letters. Attention 
was engrossed by theological inquiries and discussion. But in most of the 
countries, in the department of theology, preachers and writers of much abil- 
ity and learning appeared on both sides of the controversy Biblical study 
and historical researches were of necessity fostered by the exigencies of reli- 
gious debate. 



CHINA AND JAPAN. 449 

ASIATIC NATIONS. 

I. CHINA. 

The Jesuit Missions. — The Ming dynasty continued in power 
in China until 1644. About the middle of the sixteenth century 
the Portuguese came to the island of Macao, and commercial re- 
lations began between China and Europe. They brought opium 
into China, which had previously been imported overland from 
India. In 1583 Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit missionary, began his 
labors in China. He and his associates had great success. His 
knowledge of the book language was most remarkable. The con- 
cessions of the Jesuit fathers to the Chinese in matters of ritual 
excited much opposition in the Church. But for this dissension 
among the different Catholic orders, the Roman Catholic faith, 
which had gained very numerous converts, would have spread far 
more widely. 

The Manchu Conquest. — There were notable literary achieve- 
ments in this period, one of which was an encyclopedia in more 
than twenty-two thousand books. Four copies were made : only 
one, a damaged copy, now remains. The great political event of 
the time was the seizure of the throne by the Manchu Tartars 
(1644), who came in as auxiliaries against a rebellion, but have 
worn the crown until now. The shaved head and the long cue 
are customs introduced by the Tartar conquerors. Certain privi- 
leges, and certain habits to which the natives clung, as the mode 
of dress for women, and the compression of their feet, were retained 
by express stipulation. 

II. JAPAN. 

Feudal System. — In 1 603 lyeyasu, an eminent general, founded 
the Tokugawa dynasty, which continued until the resignation of 
the last Shogun (or Tycoon) in 1867. The rulers of that line held 
their court at Yedo, which grew into a flourishing city. The long 
period of anarchy and bloodshed that had preceded, was brought 
to an end. ly^yasu laid the foundation of a feudal system which 
his grandson lyhnitsu (1623-1650) completed. Japan was divided 
into fiefs, each under a daimid for its chief, who enjoyed a large 
degree of independence. The people consisted of four classes : 
( I ) the military families, who had the right to wear two swords, 
the clansmen of the great nobles ; (2) the farming class ; (3) the 
artisans ; (4) the tradesmen. 

Christianity in Japan. — Christianity was preached in Japan 
hy Xavier,z. successful Jesuit missionary, in 1583. Other Jesuit 
preachers followed. A multitude of converts were made. But on 
account of immoralities of Europeans, and the dread of foreign 
political domination, the government engaged in a series of severe 



450 MODERN HISTORY. 

persecutions. In 1614 an edict proscribed Christianity. A por- 
tion of the peasants who were converts were so oppressed, that 
they revolted (1637). The result was an act of terrible cruelty, — 
the massacre of all Christians ; so that none remained openly to 
profess the Christian faith. 

III. INDIA. 

The Mughal Empire. — In the latter half of the fourteenth and 
in the fifteenth centuries, the most of India was ruled by distinct 
Mohammedan dynasties. The doininion of the x^fghan dynasty at 
DelJii was thus greatly reduced. In 1525 the Mughal {Mogul) 
Empire was founded by Babar, a descendant of Tamerlane. Babar 
invaded India, and defeated the Sultan of Delhi in the battle of 
Paniput. The new empire was not permanently established until 
his grandson Akbar (i 556-1 605), in a series of conquests, spread 
his dominion over all India north of the Vindhyar mountains. 
Not until the reign of Auriingzeb (1658-1707), was the Deccan 
subdued. After 1600 the Portuguese no longer had the naonop- 
oly of the foreign trade : the Dutch and Enghsh became their 
rivals. 

Literature. —See lists of works on general history, p. i6: on modern history, p. 395; 
on the history of particular countries, p. 359. 

General Works on the Period. De Thou's History of his own Times; Robertson's 
History of Charles V. (Prescott's ed.) ; Von Raumer's Gesch. Enropas seit d. Eiide d. 
15 t'i Jahrh. (8 vols) . ; Hallam's ItitroductioJi to the Literature of Eicrope in the Fifteenth, 
Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries; Ranke's series of works on this period, — the His- 
tory of the Popes, and the Histories of Germany, France, and England; Histories of the 
Reformation by D'Aubigne, Dollinger {Roman Catholic) , Spalding (Roman Catholic), Fisher, 
Hausser, Hardwick, Stebbing ; Laurent, La Reforme ; Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire 
Generate (iv. and v.); Seebohm's Era of Protestant Revolution ; Works of Janssen, 
Pastor, Creighton. 

On the German and Swiss Reformation: Waddington's History, etc.; Hagenbach, Vor- 
lesjcngen, etc, ; Lives of Luther, by Meurer, Michelet, Beard, Kostlin; Lives of Zwingli, by 
Christoffel, Morikofer; Lives of Calvin, by Henry, Dyer, Kampschulte (Roman 
Catholic). 

Reformation in France. Works by Soldan, Von Polenz, Smiles, Browning ; Baird's 
works on Huguenots ; Perkins, Prance under Richelieu and Mazarifi (2 vols.); Hano- 
taux, Richelieu (2 vols.). 

The Revolt of the Netherlands. Blok's History of the Netherlands (3 vols.), etc.; 
Motley's Rise of the Dutch Republic, and History of the United Netherlands; Prescott's 
History of Philip //. / Th. Juste, Hist, de la Revol. des Pays-Bas, etc. (2 vols ). 

The Reformation in England. The Histories of Macaulay. Lingard, Froude, Burnet's 
History of the Reformation in Eiigland. S. R. Gardiner's History of Etigland iibo^ 10 
1656); Clarendon's History of the Great Rebellion; a series of works on this period by 
GuizOT ; Neal's History of the Puritans ; Gairdner, History of the Eitglish Church from 
Henry VIH. to Mary ; selections of documents by Prothero and by Gardiner; Lives of 
Cromwell, by Carlyle, by Forster, Gardiner, Harrison, Firth; Strypes Lives of the Leading 
Reformers — Cranmer, etc. 

On the Reformation in Scotland. Burton's History of Scotland ; Robertson's History 
of Scotland ; McCrie's Life of John Knox ; W. M. Taylor, Life of John Knox. 

On the Thirty Years' War. Gindely's History, etc, ; Gardiner, The Thirty Years' 
JVa?-; Life of Gustavus Adolphus. 

For more extended lists, see Adams's Manual, etc. ; and Fisher's The Reformation 
(Appendix). For list of works on colonization in America, see the list at the end of Period III. 



Period III. 

FROM THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA TO THE FRENCH 
REVOLUTION. 

{1648-1789.) 



INTRODUCTION. 

Character of the Period. — One feature of this period is the 
efforts made by the nations to improve their condition, especially 
to increase the thrift and to raise the standing of the middle class. 
An illustration is what is called the " mercantile system " in France. 
Along with this change, there is progress in the direction of greater 
breadth in education and culture. In both of these movements, 
rulers and peoples cooperate. Monarchical power, upheld by 
standing, armies, reaches its climax. The result is internal order, 
coupled with tyranny. Great wars were carried on, mostly con- 
tests for succession to thrones. The outcome was an equilibrium 
in the European state system, dependent on the relations of five 
great powers. 

First Section of the Period. — In the first half of the period, 
the East and the West of Europe are shghtly connected. In the 
West, France gains the preponderance over Aicstria, until, by the 
Spanish war of succession, England restores the balance. In 
the East, Sweden is in the van, until, in the great Northern war 
( 1 700-1 721), Russia becomes predominant. 

Second Section of the Period. — In the second half of the 
period, the East and the West of Europe are brought together in 
one state system, in particular by the rise of the power of Prussia. 

Chief Events. — The fall of Sweden and the rise of Russia and 
Prussia are political events of capital importance. The maritime 
supremacy of England, with the loss by England of the American 
colonies, is another leading fact. In the closing part of the period 
appear the intellectual and political signs of the great Revolution 
which broke out in France near the end of the eighteenth century. 

451 



452 MODERN HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE PREPONDERANCE OF FRANCE: FIRST PART OF THE 
REIGN OF LOUIS XIV. (TO THE PEACE OF RYSWICK, 
1697): THE RESTORATION OF THE STUARTS: THE ENG- 
LISH REVOLUTION OF 1688. 

Louis XIV.: Mazarin. — The great minister Richelieu died in 
1642. "Abroad, though a cardinal of the Church, he arrested 
the Catholic reaction, freed Northern from Southern Europe, and 
made toleration possible ; at home, out of the broken fragments 
of her liberties and her national prosperity, he paved the way for 
the glory of France." He paved the way, also, for the despotism 
of her kings. He had been feared and hated by king and people, 
but had been obeyed by both. A few months later Louis XIII., 
a sovereign without either marked virtues or vices, followed him 
(1643). Louis XIV. (1643-1715) was then only five years old; 
and Mazarin, the heir of Richelieu^s power, stood at the helm 
until his death (1661). To this Italian statesman, ambitious of 
power and wealth, but astute, and, like Richelieu, devoted to France, 
the queen, Anne of Austria, willingly left the management of the 
government. The rebellion of the Fronde (1648- 165 3) was a 
rising of the nobles to throw off the yoke laid on them by Riche- 
lieu. They were helped by the discontent of parliament and people 
with the oppressive taxation. In Paris, there was a rising of the 
populace, who built barricades ; but the revolt was quelled. Its 
leaders, Conti, the Cardinal de Retz, and the great Conde, a 
famous soldier, were compelled to fly from the country. Maza- 
rin, who had been obliged to fly to Cologne, returned in triumph. 
After that, resistance to the absolute monarch ceased, — the mon- 
arch whose theory of government was expressed in the assertion, 
" I am the State" {letal c^est nioi). In the Peace of the Pyrenees 
{i6^()), Spain gave in marriage to Louis, the Infanta Maria Theresa, 
the daughter of Philip IV., and ceded to France important places 
in the Netherlands. Maria renounced all claims on her inherit- 
ance, for herself and her issue, in consideration of a dowry of five 
hundred thousand crowns to be paid by Spain. Shortly after, 
Mazarin, who had negotiated the treaty, in full possession of his 
exalted authority and the incalculable treasures which he had 
amassed, died. 

Louis XIV. and his Officers. — Lords XIV. was now his own 
master. His appetite for power was united with a relish for pomp 
and splendor, which led him to make Versailles, the seat of his 
court, as splendid as architectural skill and lavish expenditure 
could render it, and to make France the model in art, literature, 
manners, and modes of life, for all Europe. With sensual pro- 



FRENCH ATTACK ON HOLLAND. 453 

pensities he mingled a religious or superstitious vein, so that from 
time to time he sought to compound for his vices by the persecu- 
tion of the Huguenots. He was the central figure in the European 
life of his time. Taking care that his own personal authority 
should not be in the least impaired, he made Colbert controller- 
general, to whom was given charge of the finances of the king- 
dom. Louvois was made the minister of war. Colbert not only 
provided the money for the costly wars, the luxurious palaces, 
and the gorgeous festivities of his master, but constructed canals, 
fostered manufactures, and built up the French marine. Louvois, 
with equal success, organized the iTiilitary forces in a way that 
was copied by other European states. Able generals — Turenne, 
Conde, and Luxemburg — were in command. The nobles who 
held the offices, military as well as civil, vied with one another in 
their obsequious devotion to the " great king." Vauban, the most 
skillful engineer of the age, erected impregnable fortifications in 
the border towns that were seized by conquest. In the arts of 
diplomacy, the French ambassadors were equally superior. The 
monarch was sustained by the national pride of the people, and 
by their ambition to dominate in Europe. 

Attack on the Netherlands. — Lotiis had already purchased 
of the Enghsh Du7ikirk, — which was shamefully sold to him by 
Charles IL., — when Philip IV. of Spain died (1665). He now 
claimed parts of the Netherlands as being an inheritance of his 
queen, according to an old law of those provinces. He conquered 
the county of Bwgundy, or Franche Comte, and various places in 
that country. ILolland, afraid that he might push his conquests 
farther, formed the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden. 
In the Treaty of Aachen (Aix), Louis gave up to the Spaniards 
Franche Comte, but retained the captured cities in the Nether- 
lands (1668), which Vauban proceeded to fortify. 

Attack on Holland. — The next attack of Louis was upon 
Holland. Holland and the Spanish Netherlands were at variance 
in religion, as well as in their political systems, and rivals in trade 
and industry. The first minister of the emperor, Leopold I., was 
in the pay of Lotiis. Sweden, in the minority of Charles XL, was 
in the hands of the Swedish nobles. England had now joined 
Louis, who, in return for help in the Netherlands, was to furnish 
subsidies to assist Charles IL in estabhshing Catholicism in his 
realm. In Holland, there was a division between the republicans, 
of whom the grand pensionary, yi?/^^ de Witt, was the chief, and 
the adherents of the house of Orange. 

The War : the Peace of Nimwegen. — Louis, having first seized 
Lorraine, — whose duke had allied himself to the United Prov- 
inces, — accompanied by his famous generals, Conde, Turenne, 
and Vauban, put himself at the head of an army of one hundred 



454 MODERN HISTORY. 

and twenty thousand men, which crossed the Rhine, and advanced 
to the neighborhood of the capital of Holland. The Orange party 
charged the blame of the failure to defend the land on their 
adversaries, whom they accused of treachery. De Witt and his 
brother, Cornelius, were killed in the streets of Hague. William 
III., the Prince of Orange (1672-1702), assumed power. Gr'd- 
7iingen held out against the French troops. Storms on the sea 
and on the land aided the patriotic defenders of their country. 
The " Great Elector " of Brandenburg, Frederic William, lent them 
help. At length the German • emperor was driven by the French 
aggressions to join actively in the war, on the side of the Dutch. 
The English Parliament (1674) forced Charles II. to conclude 
peace with them. In the battle of Sasbach, Turejitie fell (1675). 
Sweden took the side of France, and invaded the elector's terri- 
tory ; but the elector's victory at Fehrbellin (1675) laid the foun- 
dation of the greatness of Prussia. Willia?7i III kept the field 
against the great generals of France, and married the daughter of 
James, the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II. In bringing 
the war to an end, Louis, by shrewd diplomacy, settled with the 
United Provinces first. By the Peace of Nimwegen (1678 and 
1679), Holland received back its whole territory; France kept 
most of her new conquests in the Netherlands, with the county 
of Burgimdy, the city of Besangon, and some imperial towns in 
Alsace not ceded in the Peace of Westphalia ; the emperor lost 
to France Freiburg in the Breisgau. The elector, left to shift for 
himself, was forced to give back his profitable conquests to Sweden 
(1679). 

Effect of the "War. — In the war with Holland, Louis had shown 
his military strength, and his skill in making and breaking alliances. 
He had made progress towards the goal of his ambition, which was 
to act as dictator in the European family of states. To the end 
of the century, France stood on the pinnacle of power and appar- 
ent prosperity. 

Condition of France. — Manufactures flourished to an astonish- 
ing degree. France became a naval power with a large fleet and 
with all its services better organized than those of the contemporary 
English marine. Colbert finished the canal between the Mediter- 
ranean and the Atlantic. Colonies were founded in St. Domijigo, 
Cayenne, Madagascar. Canada was increasing in strength. A 
uniform, strict judicial system was established. Restless nobles 
were cowed, and the common people thus drawn to the monarch. 

The French Court. — In his court, the king established elaborate 
forms of etiquette, and made himself almost an object of worship. 
The nobility swarmed about him, and sought advancement from his 
favor. Festivals and shows of all sorts — plays, ballets, banquets, 
dazzling fireworks — were the costly diversion of the gay throngs 



REIGN OF LOUIS XIV. 455 

of courtiers, male and female, in that court, where sensuality was 
thinly veiled by ceremonious poHteness and punctilious religious 
observances. Poets, artists, and scholars were liberally patronized, 
and joined in the common adulation offered to the sovereign. 
Stately edifices were built, great libraries gathered ; academies of 
art and of science, an astronomical observatory, and the botanic 
garden for the promotion of the study of natural history, were 
founded. The palace at Versailles, with its statues, fountains, and 
gardens, furnished a pattern which all the rest of Europe aspired to 
copy. Every thing there wore an artificial stamp, from the trim- 
ming of the trees to the etiquette of the ballroom. But there 
was a splendor and a fascination which caused the French fash- 
ions, the French language and literature, with the levity and 
immorality which traveled in their company, to spread in the 
higher circles of the other European countries. 

The Galilean Church. — Louis XIV. desired, without any rup- 
ture with Rome, to take to himself a power in ecclesiastical 
affairs like that assumed in England by Henry VIII. Under the 
pontificate of Innocent XI., the assembly of the French clergy 
passed four propositions asserting the rights of the national Galil- 
ean Church, and limiting the Pope's prerogative (1682). The king 
had for his ecclesiastical champion the able and eloquent Bossuet, 
the Bishop of Meaux. Subsequently, under Innocent XII., Louis, 
afraid of a schism and anxious to procure other advantages, yielded 
up the four obnoxious propositions. 

Jansenism. — The controversy raised by the Jansenists was an 
important event in the history of France. They took their name 
ixovix Jdnsenitis, who had been Bishop of Ypres, an ardent disciple 
of St. Augusti?ie's theology. They strenuously opposed the theology 
and moral maxims of the powerful Jesuit order. Their leaders, 
St. Cyran, Pascal, Arnauld, Nicole, and others, were called Port 
Royalists, from their relation to a cloister at Port Royal, where some 
of them resided. They were men of literary and philosophical 
genius, as well as theologians and devotees. Blaise Pascal wrote 
the "Provincial Letters," a satirical and polemical work against the 
Jesuit doctrines. This has always been deemed in style a master- 
piece of French prose. His posthumous Thoughts is a profound and 
suggestive fragment on the evidences of religion. In the heated 
controversy that arose, the Jansenist leaders were for a more hmited 
definition of the Pope's authority in deciding questions of doctrine. 
The French court at length took the side of the Jesuits. In 17 13 
the Pope's bull against the Moral Reflections of Quesnel, a Jansenist 
author, was a heavy blow at his party. Finally, the Jansenists were 
proscribed by the king, and the cloister at Port Royal leveled to 
the ground. The Jansenist influence made a part of the tendencies 
to liberalism that led to the Revolution at the close of the century. 



456 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Huguenots. — After Mazarin's death, the king fell under 
the influence of a party hostile to the Huguenots. Loiivois fostered 
this feeling in him, as did Madame de Maintenon, whom he had 
secretly married, and by whom he was influenced through life. 
As he grew older, he sought to appease a guilty conscience by 
inflicting tortures on religious dissenters. He issued edicts of 
the most cruel character. He adopted the atrocious scheme of the 
dragonade, or the billeting of soldiers, over whom there was no 
restraint, in Huguenot families. In the course of three years, 
fifty thousand families, industrious and virtuous people, had fled 
the country. In 1685 the Edict of Nantes, the charter of Prot- 
estant rights, was revoked. Emigration was forbidden ; yet not 
far from a quarter of a million of refugees escaped, to enrich by 
their skill and labor the Protestant countries where they found 
an asylum. Many of the refugees were received by the Elector 
Frederick, and helped to build up Berlin, then a smaU city of 
twelve thousand inhabitants. France was not only in a degree 
impoverished by those who fled, but, also, by the much larger 
number who remained to be harassed and ruined by the foolish 
and brutal bigotry of their ruler. 

The loss to France by the exile of the Huguenots was incal- 
culable. " Here were the thriftiest, the bravest, the most intelli- 
gent of Frenchmen, the very flower of the race ; some of their 
best and purest blood, some of their fairest and most virtuous 
women, all their picked artisans. In war, in diplomacy, in litera- 
ture, in production of wealth, these refugees gave what they took 
from France to her enemies ; for they carried with them that bit- 
ter sense of wrong which made them henceforth foremost among 
those enemies, the forlorn hope of every attack on their ancient 
fatherland. Large numbers of officers, and those among the 
ablest, emigrated ; among them pre-eminent Marshal Schomberg, 
'the best general in Europe.' The fleet especially suffered : the 
best of the sailors emigrated ; the ships were almost unmanned. 
The seamen carried tidings of their country's madness to the 
ends of the earth : as Voltaire says, ' the French were as widely 
dispersed as the Jews.' Not only in industry, but in thought and 
mental activity, there was a terrible loss. From this time litera- 
ture in France loses all spring and power." 

In England, the Huguenot exfles quickened manufactures ; in 
Holland, commerce ; in Brandenburg, they made a new era in 
agriculture. Moreover, from this time the policy of Brandenburg 
was changed : the .hostihty to the emperor and the house of 
Austria gave way. An antagonism to France arose: "a process 
begun by the Great Elector, carried on by Frederick the Great, 
and brought to a triumphant close in our own days, dates from 
the revocation of the Edict of Nantes." 



REIGN OF LOUIS XIV. 457 

The Cost of National Unity in France. — From the beginning 
of the Reformation, the problem for the nations to solve was, how 
to combine religious freedom with national unity , The intolerance 
of the Spanish branch of the Hapsburgs deprived them of Hol- 
land, and broke down their power. This effort to secure uni- 
formity of belief was shattered. A like effort in Germany resulted 
in the Thirty Years' War, and the utter loss of the national unity 
which it aimed to restore. The civil wars in France, aiming at 
the same result, uniformity of belief, ended in an accommodation 
between the parties, secured by Henry IV. in the Edict of Nantes. 
There was a partial sacrifice of national unity. This was reestab- 
lished by the policy of Richelieu and the acts of Louis XIV., but 
at a fearful cost. The loss of the Huguenot emigrants ; the loss 
of character, with the loss of the spirit of independence, in the 
nobles of France ; the full sway of a monarchical despotism, — 
this was the price paid for national unity. 

Aggressions of Louis. — The readiness of the European states 
to accept the provisions of the Nimwegen Treaty emboldened 
Louis to further outrages and aggressions. Germany, split into a 
multitude of sovereignties, and for the most part inactive as if 
a paralysis lay upon her, was a tempting prey to the spoiler. He 
claimed that all the places which had stood in a feudal relation to 
the places acquired by France in the Westphalian and Nimwegen 
treaties, should become dependencies of France. He constituted 
Reunions, or courts of his own, to decide what these places were, 
and enforced their decrees with his troops (1679). He went so 
far, in a time of peace, as to seize and wrest from the German 
Empire the city of Strasburg, to establish his domination there, 
and to introduce the Catholic worship, in the room of the Protes- 
tant, in the minster (1681). Instead of heeding the warning of 
the Prince of Orange, the empire concluded with Louis the truce 
of Regensburg, by which he was suffered to retain these conquests. 
He evinced his arrogance in making a quarrel with Genoa, in bom- 
barding the city, and in forcing the doge to come to Versailles 
and beg for peace (1684). 

Hungary and Austria, — The Emperor Leopold was busy in 
the eastern part of his dominions. The success of the Turks, 
who gained possession of Lower Hungary, called out a more ener- 
getic resistance ; but a victory gained by the imperial general, 
Montecuculi, at St. Gothard, on the Raab (1664), only resulted 
in a truce. The Austrian government, guided by the minister, 
Lobkowitz, used the opportunity to rob the Hungarians of their 
liberties and rights. Political tyranny and religious persecution 
went hand in hand. Protestant preachers were sold as galley- 
slaves. T'okoly, an Hungarian nobleman, led in a revolt, and in- 
voked the help of the Turks. In 1683 the Turks laid siege to 



458 MODERN HISTORY. 

Vienna, which was saved by a great victory gained under its walls 
by a united German and Polish army ; the hero in the conflict 
being Joim Sobieski, king of Poland. The German princes and 
Venice now united in the prosecution of the war. The conquest 
of Hungary from the Turks enabled Leopold to destroy Hun- 
garian independence. After their defeat by Charles of Lorraine 
at Mohacs (1687), the Diet of Pressburg conferred on the male 
Austrian line the crown of Hungary, and abandoned its old privi- 
lege of resisting unconstitutional ordinances (1687). A great 
victory gained over the Turks by Prince Eugene at Zenta was 
followed by the Peace of Carlowitz, which gave Hungary and 
Transylvania to Austria, Morea to Venice, and Azof to Russia. 
Tokoly died in exile. 

The Restoration in England (1660). — Richard Cromwell 
quietly succeeded to the Protectorate. But the officers of the 
army recalled the "Rump" Parliament, the survivors of the Long 
Parhament. After eight months Richard gave up his office. 
The " Rump " was soon in a quarrel again with the army, and was 
expelled by its chief, Lambert. Mo?ik, the commander of the 
English troops in Scotland, refused to recognize the government 
set up by the officers in London. The fleet declared itself on the 
side of Parliament. Lambej't was forsaken, and Monk entered 
London (1660). A new Parliament or Convention was convoked, 
which included the Upper House. The restoration of Chaises IL. 
was now effected by means of the combined influence of the Epis- 
copalians and Presbyterians, and through the agency of Monk. 
Charles, in his Declaration from Breda, prior to his return, prom- 
ised "liberty to tender consciences." This. and subsequent pledges 
were falsified : he had the Stuart infirmity of breaking his engage- 
ments. With an easy good-nature and complaisant manners, he 
was void of moral principle, and in his conduct an open profligate. 
At heart he was a Roman Catholic, and simply from motives of 
expediency deferred the avowal of his belief to his death-bed. 
The army was disbanded. Vengeance was taken on such of the 
" regicides," the judges of Charles /., as could be caught, and on 
the bodies of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw. The Cavalier 
party had now every thing their own way. The Episcopal system 
was reestablished, and a stringent Act of Uniformity was passed. 
Two thousand Presbyterian ministers were turned out of their 
parishes. If there was at any time indulgence to the noncon- 
formists, it was only for the sake of the Roman CathoUcs. John 
Bunyan, the author of " Pilgrim's Progress," was kept in prison 
for more than twelve years. The sale of Dunkirk to France 
(1662) awakened general indignation. 



REIGN OF CHARLES II. 459 

The "Year of "Wonders:" the Conduct of Charles. — The year 
1665 was marked as the year of the Great Plague iii London, 
where the narrow and dirty streets admitted Uttle fresh air. It 
was estimated that not less than one hundred thousand people 
perished. In less than a year after the plague ceased, there oc- 
curred the Gi'eat Fire in London (Sept., 1666), which burned 
for three days, and laid London in ashes from the Tower to the 
Temple, and from the Thames to Smithfield. St. Paul's, the 
largest cathedral in England, was consumed, and was replaced by 
the present church of the same name, planned by Sir Christopher 
Wre7i. The king showed an unexpected energy in trying to stay 
the progress of the flames. But neither public calamities, nor the 
sorrow and indignation of all good men, including his most loyal 
and attached adherents, could check the shameless profligacy of 
his palace-life. The diaries of Evelyn and of Pepys, both of whom 
were familiar with the court, picture the disgraceful depravation 
of morals, which was stimulated by the king's example. But the 
nation was even more aggrieved by his conduct in respect to for- 
eign nations. In a war with Holland, arising out of commercial 
rivalry, the English had the mortification of seeing the Thames 
blockaded by the Dutch fleet (1667). Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, 
Charles's principal adviser, whose daughter married the Duke of 
York, was driven from office, and went into exile to escape a trial. 
The Triple Alliance against Louis (p. 453) was gratifying to the 
people; but in the Treaty of Dover (1670), diaries engaged to 
declare himself a Roman Catholic as soon as he could do so with 
prudence, and promised to join his cousin, Louis XIV., against 
Holland, and to aid him in his schemes ; in return for which he 
was to receive a large subsidy from Louis, a pension during the 
war, and armed help in case of an insurrection in England. 

The "Cabal" Ministry. — A cabinet, as we now term it, — a 
small number of persons, — had, before this reign, begun to exer- 
cise the functions which belonged of old to the King's Council. 
At this time, the cabal ministry — so called from the first letters 
of the names, which together made the word — was in power. 
In 1672 war with Holland was declared, and was kept up for 
two years. 

Declaration of Indulgence. — When Charles began this second 
Dutch war, he issued orders for the suspension of the laws against 
the Catholics and Dissenters. His design was to weaken the 
Church of England. The anger of Parliament and of the people 
at this usurpation obliged him to recall the declaration. 

The Test Act. — Parliament, in 1673, passed an act which shut 
out all Dissenters from office. This act the king did not venture 
to reject ; although the effect of it was to oblige his \ixo\h&x James, 
the Duke of York, to resign his office of lord high admiral. 



460 MODERN HISTORY. 

Danby's Ministry. — The cabal ministry was gradually broken 
up ; and Shaftesdury, an able minister, went over to the other side. 
The Eaj'l of Dandy became the chief minister. He was in agree- 
ment with the House of Commons. He favored the marriage 
which united Mary, the daughter of the Duke of York, to William, 
Prince of Orange. 

The "Popish Plot" (1678). — -The already exasperated nation was 
infuriated by an alleged " Popish Plot " for the subverting of the 
government, and for the murder of the king and of all Protes- 
tants. Tifus Gates, a perjurer, was the main witness. Many inno- 
cent Roman Catholics were put to death. This pretended plot 
led to stringent measures shutting out papists from office. Halifax, 
an able man who called himself " a trimmer," because he did not 
always stay on one side or with one party, opposed a bill that 
would have excluded the king's brother from the succession, and 
it failed. 

Habeas Corpus Act. — In 1679 the Habeas Corpus Act was 
passed, providing effectually against the arbitrary imprisonment of 
subjects. Persons arrested must be brought to trial, or proved in 
open court to be legally confined. 

Parties : Russell and Sidney. — At this time the party names 
of Whig and Tory came into vogue. Insurgent Presbyterians in 
Scotland had been called " Whigs," a Scotch word meaning whey, 
or sour milk. The nickname was now applied to Shaftesbury'' s 
adherents, opponents of the court, who wished to exclude the 
Duke of York from the throne on account of his being a Catholic. 
Tories, also a nickname, the designation of the supporters of the 
court, meant originally Romanist outlaws, or robbers, in the bogs 
of Ireland. Many of the Whigs began to devise plans of insur- 
rection, from hatred of Charles'' s arbitrary system of government. 
Some of them were disposed to put forward Monmouth, the eldest 
of Charles's illegitimate sons, and a favorite of the common peo- 
ple. The "Rye-House Plot" for the assassination of the king and 
his brother was the occasion of the trial and execution of two 
eminent patriots, — William, Lord Russell, and Algernon Sidney, a 
warm advocate of republican government. Both, it is believed, 
were unjustly condemned. The Duke of York assumed once more 
the office of admiral. Charles, before his death, received the 
sacrament from a priest of the Church of Rome (1685). 

James II. (1685-1688) : Monmouth's Rebellion. — A few months 
after James's accession, the Duke of Monmouth landed in Eng- 
land ; but his effort to get the crown failed. His forces, mostly 
made up of peasants, were defeated at Sedge moor ; and he perished 
on the scaffold. Vengeance was taken upon all concerned in 
the revolt ; and Chief Justice Jeffreys, for his brutal conduct in the 
" Bloody Assizes," in which, savage as he was, he nevertheless 



REVOLUTION OF 1688. 461 

became rich by the sale of pardons, was rewarded with the office 
of lofd chancelor, 

James's Arbitrary Government. — James paid no heed to his 
promise to defend the Church of England. Of a slow and obsti- 
nate mind, he could not yield to the advice of moderate Roman 
Catholics, and of the Pope, Innocent XL ; but set out, by such 
means as dispensing with the laws, to restore the old religion, and 
at the same time to extinguish civil liberty. He turned out the 
judges who did not please him. He created a new Ecclesiastical 
Commission, for the coercion of the clergy, with the notorious 
Jeffreys at its head. After having treated with great cruelty the 
Protestant dissenters, he unlawfully issued a Declaration of Indul- 
gence (1687) in their favor, in order to get their support for his 
schemes in behalf of his own religion. He turned out the fellows 
of Magdalen College, Oxford, for refusing to appoint a Catholic 
for their president. He sent seven bishops to the Tower in 1688, 
who had signed a petition against the order requiring a second 
Declaration of Indulgence to be read in the churches. Popular 
sympathy was strongly with the accused, and the news of their 
acquittal was received in the streets of London with shouts of joy. 

Revolution of 1688: William and Mary (1689-1694). — The 
birth of a Prince of Wales by his second wife, Mary of Modena, 
increased the disaffection of the English people. His two daugh- 
ters by his first wife — Mary and Anne — were married to Protes- 
tants ; Mary, to William, Prince of Orange and stadtholder of 
Holland, and Anne to George, Prince of Denmark. By a com- 
bination of parties hostile to the king, William was invited to take 
the English throne. Jaines was blind to the signs of the approach- 
ing danger, and to the warnings of Louis XLV. of France. When 
it was too late, he attempted in vain to disarm the conspiracy by 
concessions. William landed in safety at Torbay. He was joined 
by persons of rank. Lord Churchill, afterwards the celebrated 
Duke of Marlborough, left the royal force of which he had the 
command, and went over to him. The king's daughter, Anne, fled 
to the insurgents in the North. William was quite willing that 
Ja77ies should leave the kingdom, and purposely caused him to 
be negligently guarded by Dutch soldiers. He fled to France, 
never to return. Parliament declared the throne to be, on divers 
grounds, vacant, and promulgated a Declaration of Right z!i^x\\\\xxg 
the ancient rights and liberties of England. It offered the crown 
to William and Maty, who accepted it (1689). A few months 
later, the estates of Scotland bestowed upon them the crown of 
that country. Presbyterianism was made the established form 
of religion there. The union of the kingdoms was consummated 
under their successor, Anne, when Scotland began to be repre- 
sented in the English Parliament. 



462 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Massacre of Glencoe. — A Highland chief, Maclan of Glencoe, 
with many of his followers, was treacherously slaughtered by order of Dal- 
rymple, the Master of Stair, who governed Scotland, and had obtained by 
misrepresentation from William leave to extirpate that "set of thieves," as 
he had called them. 

William in Ireland. — The sovereignty of Ireland passed, with 
that of England, to William and Mary. There James II., sup- 
ported by France, made a stout resistance. It was a conflict of 
the Irish Catholics, together with the descendants of the Norman- 
English settlers, comprising together about a million of people, 
against the English and Scottish colonists, not far from two hun- 
dred thousand in number. The latter, with steadfast courage, 
sustained a siege in Londonderry until the city was relieved by 
ships from England. Many of the inhabitants had perished from 
hunger. The victory of William at Boyne ( 1 690) , where Schomberg, 
his brave general, a Huguenot French marshal, fell, decided the 
contest. William led his troops in person through the Boyne River, 
with his sword in his left hand, since his right arm was disabled by 
a wound. James was a spectator of the fight at a safe distance. 

English Liberty. — In William'' s reign, liberty in England was 
fortified by the Bill of Rights, containing a series of safeguards 
against regal usurpation. Papists were made ineligible to the 
throne. The Toleration Act afforded to Protestant dissenters a 
large measure of protection and freedom. The press was made 
free from censorship (1695), ^^*^ newspapers began to be pub- 
lished. Provision was made for the fair trial of persons indicted 
for treason. The Act of Settkfnent (1701) settled the crown, if 
there should be no heirs of Anne or of William, upon the Princess 
Sophia, Electress of Hanover, the daughter of Elizabeth of Bohemia, 
and granddaughter oi James /., and on her heirs, being Protestants. 

The Grand Alliance: to the Peace of Ryswick. — The next 
war which Louis XIV. began was that of the succession in the 
territory of the Palatinate, which he claimed, on the extinction 
of the male line of electors, for Elizabeth Charlotte, the gifted 
and excellent sister of the deceased Elector Charles, and the wife 
of the Diike of Orleans, the king's brother. 

The table which follows will show the nature of this claim: — 

Frederic V, 1610-1632, Elector and King of Bohemia, 
711. Elizabeth, daughter of James I. of England. 



Charles Lewis, 1649-1680. Sophia, in. Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover. 



I i I 

Charles, 1680-1685. Elizabeth, George I of England. 

m. Philip, Duke of Orleans, d. 1701. 
Philip, Duke of Orleans, was the only brother of Louis XIV. From him descended King 
Lotus Philippe (1830-1848). 



LOUIS XIV.: THE GRAND ALLIANCE. 463 

Another reason that Louis had for war was his determination to 
secure the archbishopric of Cologne for the bishop of Stiasburg, 
a candidate of his own. In 1686 the League of Augsbtcrg had 
been formed by the emperor with Sweden, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony, 
and the Palatinate, for defense against France. The Gratid Alli- 
ance, in which England and Holland were included, was now 
made (1689). In the year before, by the advice of Louvois, the 
French had deliberately devastated the Palatinate, demolishing 
buildings, and burning cities and villages without mercy. The 
ruins of the Castle of Heidelberg are a monument of this worse 
than vandal incursion, the pretext for which was a desire to pre- 
vent the invasion of France. In the war the English and Dutch 
fleets, under Admiral Russell, defeated the French, and burned 
their ships, at the battle of La Hogue (1692). This battle was a 
turning-point in naval history : " as at Lepanto," says Ranke, 
where the Turks were defeated (15 71), "so at La Hogue, the 
mastery of the sea passed from one side to the other." But in 
the Netherlands, where William IH., the soul of the League, 
steadfastly kept the field, after being defeated by Luxemburg ; 
in Italy, where the Duke of Savoy was opposed by the Marshal 
Catinat ; and in a naval battle between the English and French 
Bit Lagos Bay, — the French commanders were successful. In 1695 
William's troops besieged and captured the town of Namur. At 
length Louis was moved by the exhaustion of his treasury, and the 
stagnation of industry in France, to conclude the Peace of Ryswick 
with England, Spain, and Holland (1697). The Duke of Savoy 
had been detached from the alliance. Most of the conquests on 
both sides were restored. William IIL was acknowledged to be 
king of England. In the treaty with the emperor, France retained 
Strasburg. Williafii was a man of sterling worth, but he was a 
Dutchman, and was cold in his manners. The plots of the Jacob- 
ites, as the adherents of James were called, did more than any thing 
else to make him popular with his subjects. 



CHAPTER II. 

WAK OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION (TO THE PEACE OP 
UTKECHT, 1713); DECLINE OF THE POWER OF FRANCE: 
POWER AND MARITIME SUPREMACY OF ENGLAND. 

Occasion of the War. — The death of Charles LL. of Spain 
(1700) was followed by the War of the Spanish Succession. 
The desire of Louis to have his hands free in the event of 
Charles's death had influenced him in making the Treaty of 



464 MODERN HISTORY. 

Ryswick. Charles had no children. It had been agreed in treaties, 
to which France was a party, that the Spanish monarchy should 
not be united either to Austria or to France ; and that Archduke 
Charles, second son of the Emperor Leopold I., should have Spain 
and the Indies. But Charles II. of Spain left a will making Louis's 
second grandson, Philip Duke of Anjou, the heir of all his domin- 
ions, with the condition annexed that the crowns of France and 
Spain should not be united. Instigated by dynastic ambition, 
Louis made up his mind to break the previous agreements, and 
seize the inheritance for Philip. Philip V. thus became king of 
Spain. On the death oi James II. (1701), Louis recognized his 
s,onJajnes, called "the Pretender," as king of Great Britain. This 
act, as a violation of the Treaty of Ryswick, and as an arrogant 
intermeddling on the part of a foreign ruler, excited the wrath 
of the English people, and inclined them to war. The Grand 
Alliance against France (1701) included the Empire, England, 
Holland, Brandenburg (or Prussia), and afterwards Portugal and 
Savoy (1703). France was supported by the electors of Bavaria 
and Cologne, and at first by Savoy. William III. died in 1 702, 
and was succeeded by Anne, the sister of his deceased wife, and 
the second daughter oi James II. 

The following table will help to make clear the several claims to the 
Spanish succession : — 

Philip III, King of Spain, 1598-1621. 



Louis XIII of France, m. Anne. 



Maria Anna, tn. Emperor 
Ferdinand III. 



Philip IV, m. (2) Anna Maria 

(1621-1665). 



Louis XIV, m. (i) Maria Charles II, Margaret Theresa, ;«. Leopold I, 



Theresa. 1665-1700. 



m. (3) Eleanor, daughter of 
Elector Palatine. 



Louis, the Dauphin. 

Philip of Anjou^ Maximilian of Bavaria, w. Maria Antonia. Joseph I, Charles VI. 
(Philip V of Spain), | d. ijzz. 

d. 1746. Joseph Ferdinand,' Electoral Prince of 

Bavaria. 

' Recognized as heir of Charles II of Spain until his death. 

2 Rival claimants for the Spanish crown after Charles II, the elder brother of each having 
resigned his pretensions. 

Events of the War. — In this war, there were displayed the 
military talents of two great generals, — the Duke of Marlborough 
and Prince Eugene of Savoy. Marlborough had two glaring faults. 
He was avaricious, and, like other prominent public men in Eng- 
land at that day, was double-faced. After deserting the service 
of James for that of William, he still kept up at times a corre- 
spondence with the exiled house. He was a man of stately and 
winning presence, a careful commander, in battle cool and self- 



WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 465 

possessed. At the council board, he had the art of quietly com- 
posing differences by winning all to an adhesion to his own views. 
It is said of him, that he " never committed a rash act, and never 
missed an opportunity for striking an effective blow." Eugene, 
on his father's side, sprang from the house of Savoy. His mother 
was a niece of Mazarifi. He was brought up at the court of Louis 
XIV. ; but when the king repeatedly refused him a commission 
in the army, he entered the service of Austria, was employed in 
campaigns against the Turks, and rose to the highest distinction. 
Flattering offers from Louis XIV. he indignantly rejected. His 
career as a soldier was long and briUiant. The personal sympathy 
of Eugene and Marlbo7-ough with each other was one important 
cause of their success. Eugene was first sent to Italy. There 
he drove Catinat, the French general, back on Milan, and cap- 
tured his successor in command, Villeroi (1702). After a drawn 
battle between Eugene and Vendonie (1702), a commander of 
much more skill than his predecessor, the French had the advan- 
tage in Italy. In 1 703, Eugene came to Germany, and Mai'lbor- 
ougk invaded the Spanish Netherlands. In 1704 Marlborough 
carried out the plan of a grand campaign which he had devised. 
He crossed the Rhine at Cologne, moved southward, captured 
Do?tauwdrth, and drove the Bavarians across the Danube. The 
united forces of Marlborough and Eugene defeated the French 
and Bavarian armies at Blenheim (or Hochstadf), on the left 
bank of the river, with great slaughter. There were captured 
fifteen thousand French soldiers, with their general Tallard. This 
victory raised Marlborough'' s reputation, already great on account 
of his masterly conduct of his army, to the highest point. He was 
made a duke by Queen Anne, and a prince of the Empire by 
Leopold. In Spain, the English captured Gibraltar. Charles 
of Austria (who had assumed the title of Charles III. of Spain) 
conquered Madrid (1706), but held it for only a short time. The 
country generally favored Philip; the arms of Vendovie were tri- 
umphant ; and Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia had to submit to 
Castilian laws as the penalty of their adhesion to the Austrian 
cause. In 1706 Marlborough vanquished Villeroi at Ramillies, 
a village in the Netherlands, in a great battle in which the French 
army was routed, and their banners and war material captured. 
The Netherlands submitted to Austria. At Turin, Eugene gained 
a victory over an army of eighty thousand men ; and the fame of 
this modest and unpretending, but brave and skillful leader was 
now on a level with that of the English general. Lombardy sub- 
mitted to Charles III., and the French were excluded from Italy. 
Another victory of the two commanders at Oudenarde (1708) 
over Vendome and the Duke of Burgundy, broke down the hopes 
of Louis, and moved him to offer the largest concessions, which 



466 MODERN HISTORY. 

embraced the giving up of Strashurg and of Spain. But the allies, 
flushed with success, went so far as to demand that he should aid 
in driving his grandson out of Spain. This roused France, as well 
as Louis himself, to another grand effort. At Malplaqiiet, in a 
bloody conflict, the French were again defeated by Marlborough 
and Eiigene. 

To the Peace of Utrecht. — Circumstances now favored the 
vanquished and humbled king of France. The Whig ministry 
in England, which the victories of Ma7-lborough had kept in 
office, fell from power (1710) ; and its enemies, and the enemies 
of Marlborough, were anxious to weaken him. Anne dismissed 
from her service the Duchess of Marlborough, a haughty woman 
of a violent temper. Hai-ley, Earl of Oxford, and St. John, after- 
wards Viscount Bolingbroke, became the queen's principal minis- 
ters. They wished to end the war. The Y.m-^&xox Joseph (1705- 
1711), who had succeeded Leopold /., died; so that Charles, if 
he had acquired Spain, would have restored the vast monarchy 
of Charles V., and brought in a new source of jealousy and 
alarm. Negotiations for peace began. Marlborough, who had 
been guilty of traitorous conduct, was removed from his com- 
mand, and deprived of all his offices (1712), Ini7i3 the Peace 
of Utrecht was concluded between England and France, in which 
Holland, Prussia, Savoy, and Portugal soon joined. It was fol- 
lowed by the Peace of Rastadt and Baden with the emperor 
(1714). Spain and Spanish America were left to Philip V., the 
Bourbon king, with the proviso that the crowns of France and 
Spain should never be united. France ceded to England New- 
fotindland. Nova Scotia, and the Hudson Bay Territory. Spain 
ceded to England Gibraltar and Minorca. The Elector of Bran- 
denburg was recognized as King of Prussia. Savoy received the 
island of Sicily, which was exchanged seven years later for Sar- 
dinia, and for the title of king for the duke. Holland gained 
certain " barrier " fortresses on its border. Austria received the 
appanages of the Spanish monarchy, — the Spanish Netherlands, 
Naples, Sardinia, and Milan, but not Sicily. The emperor did 
not recognize the Bourbons in Spain. 

Last Days of Louis XIV. — In the next year after the peace, 
Louis XIV. died. Within two years (1710-1712) he had lost his 
son, his grandson the Duke of Burgundy (whom the pious Fene- 
lon had trained), his wife, and his eldest great-grandson, and, two 
years later (1714), his third grandson, the Duke of Berry. He 
left France overwhelmed with debt, its resources exhausted, its 
credit gone, its maritime power prostrate ; a land covered with 
poverty and wretchedness. This was the reward of lawless pride 
and ambition in a monarch who owed his strength, however, 
to the sympathy and subservience of the nation. 



FRANCE: ITALY. 46/ 

Law's Bank. — During the mmority of Zout's XV. (1715-1774) 
Philip, Duke of 0rlea7is, was regent, a man of extraordinary talents, 
but addicted to shameful debauchery. The opportunity for effective 
reform was neglected. The most influential minister was Cardinal 
Dubois, likewise a man of unprincipled character. The state was 
really bankrupt, when a Scottish adventurer and gambler, y<?/^;z Laiv, 
possessed of unusual financial talents, but infected with the econ- 
omical errors of the time, offered to rescue the national finances 
by means of a bank, which he was allowed to found, the notes of 
which were to serve as currency. Almost all the coined money 
flowed into its coffers ; its notes went everywhere in the kingdom, 
and were taken for government dues ; it combined with its busi- 
ness " the Mississippi scheme," or the control of the trade, and 
almost the sovereignty, in the Mississippi region ; it absorbed the 
privileges of the different companies for trading with the East ; 
finally it took charge of the national mint and the issue of coin, and 
of the taxation of the kingdom, and it assumed the national debt. 
The temporary success of the gigantic financial scheme turned the 
heads of the people, and a fever of speculation ran through all 
ranks. The crash came, the shares in the bank sunk in value, the 
notes depreciated ; and, in the wrath which ensued upon the gen- 
eral bankruptcy. Law, who had been honored and courted by the 
high and the low, fled from the kingdom. He died in poverty at 
Venice. The state alone was a gainer by having escaped from a 
great part of its indebtedness. 

Italy. — Before the middle of the eighteenth century, the Span- 
ish Bourbons again had possession of Naples and Sicily, besides 
other smaller Italian states. Austria, besides holding Milan, was 
the virtual ruler of Tuscany. 

Spain in Italy. — Philip V. was afflicted with a mental derangement 
peculiar to his family. The government was managed by the ambitious 
queen, Elizabeth of Parma, and the intriguing Italian, Alberoni, the minister 
in whom she confided. He sought to get back the Italian states lost by the 
Peace of Utrecht. But Sardinia and Sicily were restored when he was over- 
thrown, through the fear excited by the Quadruple Alliance of France, Eng- 
land, Austria, and Holland (1718). Later, the queen succeeded in obtaining 
the kingdom of Naples and Sicily for her oldest son, Don Carlos, under the 
name of Charles III. Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, she gained for her 
second son, Philip (1735). When Charles succeeded to the Spanish throne 
(1759-1788), he left Ahiples and Sicily to his third son, Ferdinand. 

Austria in Italy. — The house of Savoy steadily advanced in power. 
By the Peace of Ryswick, Victor Amadeus 11. (1675-1730), secured impor- 
tant places previously gained. He became "King of Sardinia" (1720). 
By him the University of Turin was founded, and the administration of jus- 
tice much improved. His next two successors carried forward this good 
work. Venice lost Morea to the Turks, but retained Coi-fii and her conquests 
in Dalmatia (17 18). Liberty was gone, and there was decay and conscious 
weakness in the once powerful republic. Genoa was coveted by Savoy, 
Austria, and France. The consequent struggles are the material of Genoese 
history for a long period. Corsica was oppressed, and Genoa called on France 



468 MODERN HISTORY. 

to lend help in suppressing its revolt (1736). The Corsicans especially, 
under Paoli, defended themselves with such energy that France found its 
work of subjugation hard and slow (1755). The island was ceded to France by 
Genoa (1768). Milan,yN\\\\ Mantua, was Austrian, after the Peace of Utrecht 
(1713). Tuscany under Ferdinand II. (1628-1670) bestowed its treasure on 
Austria and Spain, and fell under the sway of ecclesiastics. Under Cosmo 
III. (1670-1723), the process of decline went on. After the death of the last 
of the Medici, John Gasto (1737), Tuscany was practically under the power of 
Austria, notwithstanding the stipulation that both states should not have the 
same ruler. It was governed by Francis Stephen (1738-1765), Duke of 
Lorraine, husband of the Empress Maria Theresa; and, when he became 
emperor {Francis /.), by his second son, Leopold (i 765-1 790). At Rome, 
Pope Innocent XI. (1676-1689) had many conflicts with Loicis XVI. which 
came to an end under the well-meaning /««c7c^«^ X//. (1691-1700). Contests 
arose on the part of Rome against the Bourbon courts respecting the Jesuit 
order, and with the forces adverse to the Church and the Papacy, in the clos- 
ing part of the eighteenth century. In 1735, the Emperor Charles VI. allowed 
that Naples and Sicily should be handed over, as a kingdom, to Don Carlos, 
the son of the Spanish Bourbon king, under the name of Charles III., by 
whom it was granted to his son Ferdinand IV. (1759). 

Close of Anne's Reign. — Anne's husband, Prince George of 
Dennia7-k, had no influence, and deserved none. One of the im- 
portant events of her reign was the Union of England and Scotland 
in 1 707 (p. 461). After the Tories came into power, the two leaders, 
Oxfo7'd and Bolingbroke, were rivals. An angry dispute between 
them hastened the queen's death (1714). One of the Tory 
measures, prompted by hostility to Dissenters, was a law forbidding 
any one to keep a school without a license from a bishop. 

ENGLAND. — HOUSE OF HANOVER. 



George I, 171 4-1 727, ?«. Sophia Dorothea of Zell. 



George II, 1 727-1 760, m. Caroline, daughter of John Frederick, Margrave of Anspach. 



Frederick, Prince of Wales, d. 1751, ;«. Augusta of Saxe Gotha. 

L-. . 

Augusta, George III, 1760-1820, 

nt. Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick. in. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. 



Caroline m. George IV, 1820-1830. William IV, Edward, Duke of Kent, d. 1820, 

1830-1837. ni. Victoria of Saxe Coburg. 

Victoria, succeeded 1837, 
VI. Albert of Saxe Coburg. 

Reign of George I. — George I., the first king of the house of 
Hanover, could not speak English. His private life was immoral. 
His first ministers were Whigs. Bolmgbroke and Oxford were im- 
peached, and fled the country. The '^ Pretender'' James Edward 
(son oi James II.), with the aid of Tory partisans, endeavored to 



REIGN OF GEORGE II. 469 

recover the English crown. His standard was raised in the High- 
lands and in North England (1715), but this Jacobite rebellion 
was crushed. After the rebellion of 1715, a law was passed, 
which is still in force, allowing a Parliament to continue for the 
term of seven years. A second conspiracy in 1 7 1 7 had the same 
fate. England had an experience analogous to that of France with 
Law, with the South Sea Company, which had a monopoly of trade 
with the Spanish coasts of South America. A rage for specula- 
tion was followed by a panic. The estates of the directors of 
the company were confiscated by Parliament for the benefit of the 
losers. Robert IValpole was made first minister, a place which 
he held under George I. and George II. for twenty-one years. 
William and Anne had attended the meetings of the Cabinet. 
George I, who could not speak English, staid away. From this 
time, one of the ministers was called the "prime minister." 

The Reign of George II. — George H. was systematic in his ways, 
frugal, willful, and fond of war. In his private life, he followed the 
evil ways of his father. Walpole^s influence was predominant. 
The clever Queen Caroline lent him her support. Walpole re- 
luctantly entered into war with Spain (1739), on account of the 
measures adopted by that power to prevent English ships from 
carrying goods, in violation of the treaty of Utrecht, to her 
South American colonies. The principal success of England was 
the taking of Porto Bello by Admiral Vernon. 

When the war was declared, the people expressed their joy by the ringing 
of bells. " They are ringing the bells now," said Walpole : " they will be 
wringing their hands soon." The blame for the want of better success in the 
war was laid on the prime minister, and he was driven to resign. Then 
followed the ministry of the Pelhams, Henry Pelham and the Duke of New- 
castle, who, like Walpole, managed Parliament by bribing the members through 
the gift of offices. 

In the war of the Austrian succession (1740), England took 
part with Austria, and the king in person fought in Germany. In 
1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the -^oVing Pretender (whose 
father, the old Pretender, styled \i\xVi%^\{ James III), landed in 
the Highlands. The Highlanders defeated the English at Preston 
Pans, near Edinburgh. The Pretender marched into England 
as far as Derby, at the head of the Jacobite force, but had to 
turn back and retreat to Scotland. The contest was decided by 
the victory of the English under the Di/ke of Cumbei'land, at 
Cullodcn (1746), which was attended by an atrocious slaughter of 
the wounded. Culloden was the last battle fought in behalf of the 
Stuarts. Nearly eighty Jacobite conspirators, one of whom was 
an octogenarian, Lord Lovat, were executed as traitors. These 
Jacobites were the last persons who were beheaded in England. 
The Pretender wandered in the Highlands and Western Islands for 



470 MODERN HISTORY. 

five months, under different disguises. He was concealed and 
aided by a Scottish lady, Flora Macdonald. Then he ■ escaped to 
the Continent, where he led a miserable and dissipated life, and 
died in 1 788. His brother Henry, Cardinal York, the last of the 
Stuarts in the male line, died in 1807. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE GREAT NORTHERN WAR: THE FALL OP SWEDEN: 
GROWTH OF THE POWER OF RUSSIA. 

Sweden. — The eventful epoch in the history of Sweden, in this 
period, is the reign of CVz^r/ifj- JT//. (169 7-1 7 18). At his acces- 
sion, when he was only sixteen years old, Sweden ruled the Baltic. 
Its army was strong and well disciplined. What is now St. Peters- 
bicrg was a patch of swampy ground in Swedish territory, where a 
few fishermen lived in their huts. The youth of Charles was pro- 
phetic of his career. In doors, he read the exploits of Alexander 
the Great ; out of doors, gymnastic sports and the hunting of the 
bear were his favorite diversions. He became an adventurous 
warrior after the type of Alexander. His rashness and obstinacy 
occasioned at last the downfall of his country. Three great powers, 
Russia, Poland, and Denmark, with the support of Patkiil, a dis- 
affected Livonian subject of Sweden, joined in an attack on the 
youthful monarch (1699). Pcitkul, who was a patriot, unable to 
secure the rights of Livonia, and condemned as a rebel, had 
entered the service of the Elector Aiigiistiis of Saxony, who was 
king of Poland. There were territories belonging to Sweden 
which each of the confederates coveted. Frederick IV. of Den- 
mark expected to incorporate Sweden itself in his dominions. 

Russia : Peter the Great. — The first ruler of the house of 
Romanoff, which has raised Russia to its present rank, was Michael 
(1613-1645). Under Alexis, his son (1645-1676), important 
conquests were made from the Poles, and the Cossacks acknowl- 
edged the sovereignty of the Czar. The principal founder of 
Russian civilization was Peter the Great (1682-1725). Through 
the machinations of his half-sister Sophia, who contrived to get the 
armed aid of the streltzi, — the native militia, — he had to share 
the throne with a half-brother, Ivan, who was older than' himself, 
and lived until 1696. Sophia pushed aside Peter's mother, and 
grasped the reins of power. Peter learned Latin, German, and 
Dutch, and acquired much knowledge of various sorts. As he 
grew older, his life was in danger ; but at the age of seventeen, 
he was able to crush his enemies (1689). Sophia, who was at 



THE NORTHERN WAR. 4/1 

their head, he shut up in a monastery for the remainder of her 
days. From Leforf, a Swiss, and other foreigners, Peter derived 
information about foreign lands, and was led to visit them in 
order to instruct himself, and to introduce into his own country 
the arts and inventions of civilized peoples. He invited into 
Russia artisans, seamen, and officers from abroad. He traveled 
through Germany and Holland to England, and with his own 
hands worked at ship-building at the dock-yards of Zaatidam 
(near Amsterdam) and Depfford. On his way to Venice, he was 
called home by a revolt of the streltzi, which he put down. He 
was unsparing in his vengeance, and, despite his veneer of cul- 
ture, never got rid of his innate barbarism. Azoff he conquered, 
and it was ceded to him by the Turks in the Peace of Carlowitz 
(1699). Then his ambitious thoughts turned to the Baltic, for he 
was bent on making Russia a naval power. He formed a secret 
alliance with Denmark and Poland against Sweden. 

Condition of Poland. — In 1697 Frederick Augustus II., — 
Augustus the Strong, — Duke of Saxony, was elected king of 
Poland: he became a Roman Catholic that he might get the 
crown. But the Polish nobles took care to increase their power, 
which was already far too great to be compatible with unity or 
order. Under the anarchical but despotic nobility and higher 
clergy, stood the serfs, embracing nine-tenths of the whole popu- 
lation, who were without protection against the greed and tyranny 
of their lords. 

Events of the Northern War. — The Danes first attacked the 
territory of Holstein Gottorp, whose duke had married the sister 
of Charles XII. William III of England supported Sweden. 
The Anglo-Dutch fleet came to Charles's assistance. He landed 
his troops in Zealand. The Danes gave up their alliance, and 
sued for peace. Europe was now astonished to discover that the 
Swedish king was an antagonist to be feared. In the field he 
shared the hardships of the common soldier, and was as brave as 
a lion. Charles now attacked the Russian army before Narva, in 
Livonia. With the Swedish infantry he stormed the camp of the 
Russians, and routed their army, which was much larger in num- 
bers than his own (1700). He then raised the siege of Riga, 
which the Poles and Saxons were besieging, having first defeated 
their troops on the Dtuina. These brilliant successes might have 
enabled Charles to conclude peace on very advantageous terms. 
But he lacked moderation. He was as passionate in his public 
conduct as Peter the Great was in his private life. He was re- 
solved to dethrone Augustus in Poland. After the battle of Clis- 
sau ( 1 703 ) , he occupied that country, and made the Diet give the 
crown to Stanislas Lesczinski, the Palatine of Posen. To prevent 
Russia and Saxony from uniting against the new king, Charles 



472 MODERN HISTORY. 

carried the war into Saxony, and forced Augustus, in the Peace of 
Altra7istadt, to renounce his claim to the Polish crown, and to 
surrender Patkul, the rebel, who had become a subject of Russia, 
whom he put to death with circumstances of cruelty. In 1703 
Peter laid the foundations of the new city of St. Petersburg. But, 
a few years later, Russia was invaded by Charles, who in 1 708 
almost captured the Czar at Grodno, defeated his army near Smo- 
lensk, and was expected to advance to Moscow. But the impru- 
dent Swede turned southward into the district of the Ukraine, 
there to be joined by Mazeppa, the " hetman " of the Cossacks, 
who led them in revolt against Peter. Mazeppa was able, however, 
to bring him but few auxiliaries. The harshness of the winter, 
and other untoward events, weakened the Swedish force. The 
battle of Pultowa ( 1 709) was a great victory for the Czar. Charles 
escaped with difficulty to Turkey. There he remained for three 
years, supported with his retinue, at Bender, by the Sultan. His 
object was to bring about a war between the Sultan and the Czar. 
He so far succeeded that Peter, when surrounded on the Pruth by 
Turkish troops, was rescued only by the courage and energy of 
Catherine, the mistress whom he afterwards married. Charles 
was finally obliged to leave Turkey, after being exposed to im- 
minent peril in an attack by the janizaries, who seized his camp 
and took him captive. With a few attendants, riding by day and 
sleeping in a cart or carriage by night, he journeyed back to Swe- 
den, and arrived at Stralsund ( 1 7 14) . The hostile allies, together 
with Hanover and Prussia, were once more in array against him. 
Baron von Gortz, a German, became his principal adviser. He 
negotiated a peace with Peter, of whom the other allies were be- 
ginning to be jealous. Charles 's plan was to invade Norway, then 
to land in Scotland, and, with the help of Spain and of the Jacob- 
ites, to restore the Stuarts to the English throne. While besie- 
ging- Friedrichshall, a fortress in Norway, he exposed himself near 
the trenches, and was killed by a bullet (1718). It was long a 
question whether the fatal shot was fired from the enemy or by an 
assassin. Not until 1859 was it settled, by an examination of the 
skull, that the gun was discharged from the fortress. 

Results of the War. — One result of the Northern war was the 
execution of Gortz, to whom the Swedish aristocracy were inimi- 
cal, and a reduction of the king's authority. Hanover received 
Bremen and Vei'den ; Prussia, the largest part of Pomerania ; 
Sweden gave up its freedom from custom duties in the Sound. 
Augustus was recognized as king of Poland. Russia, by the 
Peace of Nystadt (1721), obtained Livonia, Esthonia, Inger- 
mannland, and a part of Carelia, but restored Finland. Sweden 
no longer had a place among the great powers. The place that 
Sweden had held was now taken by Rusda. 



RUSSIA. 473 

Changes in Russia. — The Czar, Peter, took the title of em- 
peror. He transferred the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg. 
By constructing canals, roads, and harbors, he promoted trade and 
commerce. By fostering manufactures and the mechanic arts, 
and by opening the mines, he increased the wealth of the country. 
He altered the method of government, making the ukases, or 
edicts, emanate from the sole will of the emperor. He abolished 
the dignity of Patriarch, making the Holy Synod, of which the 
Czar is president, the supreme ecclesiastical authority. Peter 
made a second journey through Germany, Holland, and France 
(171 6). His son Alexis, vfh.o aUied himself with a reactionary 
party that aimed to reverse the Czar's policy, he finally caused to 
be tried for treason. He was condemned, but died either from 
the bodily torture inflicted on him to extort confession, or, as many 
have believed, by poison, or other means, used by the direction of 
his father. His friends, after being barbarously tortured, were put 
to death. 

Great as was the work of Peter, " he brought Russia prematurely into the 
circle of European politics. The result has been to turn the rulers of Russia 
away from home affairs, and the regular development of internal institutions, 
to foreign politics and the creation of a great military power." In his last 
years, the frugality of his own way of living in his new capital was in striking 
contrast with the splendor with which his queen, Cathei-ine, preferred to 
surround herself. He died at the age of fifty-three, in consequence of plun- 
ging into icy water to save a boat in distress. 

The document called " The Testament of Peter the Great," which explains what has to be 
done in order that Russia may conquer all Europe, is not genuine. It is first heard of in 1812, 
in a book published by Lesur , probably by direction of Napoleon I. " Lesur's book," says 
Mr. E. Schuyler, " was merely a pamphlet to justify the invasion of Russia by Napoleon." 
(Schuyler's Life of Peter the Great, vol. ii. p. 512.) 



474 MODERN HISTORY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION; GROWTH OF THE 
POWER OP PRUSSIA: THE DESTRUCTION OF POLAND. 

The Pragmatic Sanction. — On the death of Atigustus II., there 
were two competitors for the Pohsh crown, — his son, Augustus III. 
of Saxony, and Stanislaus Lesczinski whom France supported. 
After a contest, by the consent of the Emperor Charles VI., 
Lesczinski, whose daughter had married Louis XV., obtained the 
duchy of Lon'aine, which thus became a possession of France 
(1735). In return, the emperor's son-in-law, Francis Stephen 
(afterwards Francis I), was to have Tuscany; and France, in 
connection with the other powers, assented to the Pragmatic 
Sanction, according to which the hereditary possessions of Austria 
were to descend intact in the female line. It was expected that 
the empire would pass along with them. 

Prussia: Frederick William I. — In 161 1 the duchy of Prussia 
and the mark or electorate of Brandenburg were joined together. 
The duchy was then a fief of Poland. But under the Great Elect- 
or, ivrc/m^/^ William (i 640-1 688), this relation of the duchy to 
Poland ended. By him the military strength of the electorate was 
increased. Frederick, his son (1688-1 713), with the emperor's 
license, took the title of King of Prussia {Frede7-ick /.). He built 
up the city of Berlin, and encouraged art and learning. King 
Frederick William I. (i 713-1740), unlike his predecessor, was 
exceedingly frugal in his court. He was upright and just in his 
principles, but extremely rough in his ways, and governed his own 
household, as well as his subjects generally, with a Spartan rigor. 
Individuals whom he met in the street, whose conduct or dress he 
thought unbecoming, he did not hesitate to scold, and he even 
used his cane to chastise them on the spot. He cared nothing for 
literature : artists and players were his abomination. He favored 
industry, and was a friend of the working-class. Every thing was 
done with despotic energy. He disciplined the military force of 
Prussia, and gathered at Potsdam a regiment of tall guards, made 
up of men of gigantic height, who were brought together from all 
quarters. He left to his son, Frederick II. (i 740-1 786), a strong 
army and a full treasury. 

Character of Frederick the Great. — Young Frederick had no 
sympathy with his father's austere ways. The strict system of 
training arranged for him, in which he was cut off from Latin 
and from other studies for which he had a taste, his time all par- 
celed out, and a succession of tasks rigorously ordained for him, 
he found a yoke too heavy to bear. Once he attempted to escape 
to the court of his uncle, George II. of England ; but the scheme 



WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION. 4/5 

was discovered, and the incensed father was strongly inclined to 
execute the decree of a court-martial, which pronounced him 
worthy of death. Frederick, from the window of the place where 
he was confined, saw Katie, his favorite tutor, who had helped 
him in his attempt at flight, led to the scaffold, where he was 
hanged. In the later years of the old king, the relations of father 
and son were improved. The prince had for his abode the little 
town of Rheinsberg, where he could indulge, with a circle of con- 
genial friends, in the studies and amusements to which he was par- 
tial. He grew up with a strong predilection for French literature, 
and for the French habits and fashions — free-thinking in reli- 
gion included — which were now spreading over Europe. On his 
accession to the throne, Frederick broke up the Potsdam regiment 
of giants, and called back to Halle the philosopher IVoif, whom his 
father had banished. Frederick was visited by Voitaire, who at a 
later day took up his abode for a time with him in B^riiti. But 
the king was fond of banter, and the foibles of each of these com- 
panions were a target for the unsparing wit of the other ; so that 
eventually they parted company with mutual disgust. Later they 
resumed their correspondence, and never wholly lost their intel- 
lectual sympathy with each other. As a soldier, Frederick had 
not the military genius of the greatest captains. He applied supe- 
rior talents to the discharge of the duties of a king, and to the 
business of war. He was cool, knew how to profit by his errors 
and to repair his losses, and to press forward in the darkest hour. 
Napoleon said of him that " he was great, especially at critical 
moments." 

War of the Austrian Succession. — Charles VI. was succeeded, 
in 1 740, by his daughter Maria Tiieresa, who united in her char- 
acter many of the finest qualities of a woman and of a sovereign. 
Notwithstanding the pragmatic sanction by which all the Austrian 
lands were to be hers, different princes deemed the occasion favor- 
able for seizing on the whole, or on portions, of her inheritance. 
Charles, elector of Bavaria, claimed to be the lawful heir, and was 
aided by France, which was afraid of losing Lorraine if Maria 
Theresa's husband, Francis Stephen, should become emperor. 
Augustus III. of Poland was a participant in the plot. Frederick 
II of Prussia claimed Silesia, and, after defeating the Austrians 
at Molwitz ( 1 74 1 ) , seized the greater part of that district. Soon 
after, the French and Bavarians overran Austria. The Bavarian 
elector was chosen emperor. Even the elector of Hanover 
( George II. of England) engaged not to assist the empress. 

The claims to Austria were as follows: — 

Augustus III., king of Saxony, and Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, had married 
daughters of the Emperor Joseph I. (the brother and predecessor of Charles VI.). The wife 
of Charles Albert was the younger daughter; but he appealed to an alleged provision in the 
will of the Emperor Ferdinand /., according to which the posterity of his daughter .<4«?ia 



4/6 MODERN HISTORY. 

(who married a Bavarian duke) was to inherit the duchy of Austria and Bohemia, in case his 
male descendants should die out. It was not to the tnale descendants, but to the legitimate 
descendants, however, that the will referred The Bourbons in France and Spain seized the 
occasion to regain the possessions of Spain lost in the Peace of Utrecht (p. 466). Francis 
Stephen, the husband of Maria Theresa, it was feared, mip;ht seek to get back Lorraine from 
France (p. 474). Spain was anxious to recover Milan. Philip V. of Spain claimed the Aus- 
trian possessions on the basis of certain stipulations of Charles V. and Philip HI. in the 
cession of them. To weaken the Austrian house in Germany, was an aim of France. The 
courts of France and Spain were ready, on all these grounds, to support Charles of Bavaria. 
They were ready, also, to support Frederick II. in legal claims which he set up to a portion of 
Silesia. The empress rejected the offer of Frederick to defend Austria if she would give up 
this territory. 

Spirit of the Empress: Cession of Silesia. — Maria Theresa 
proved herself a Minerva. She threw herself for support on her 
Hungarian subjects, who responded with loyal enthusiasm to her 
appeal made at the Diet of Fresburg. Her forces drove the Ba- 
varian and French troops before them in Austria, entered Bavaria, 
and captured Munich. Reluctantly the queen, in the Peace of 
Breslaii (1742), ceded Silesia to Frederick, in order to lessen the 
number of her antagonists. She was crowned (1743) in Frague, 
and at length gained an ally in George II. of England. The 
" Pragmatic Army," as it was called, defeated the French under 
Marshal Noailles at Dettingen. Sardinia and Saxony joined the 
Austrian alliance. 

To the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. — These events widened the 
dimensions of the contest. France declared war directly against 
England and Austria. Fi-ederick II. of Prussia was now the ally 
of France, and began the second Silesian war. He took Frague, 
but, being deserted by the French, was driven back into Saxony. 
The son of Charles Albert of Bavaria, Maximilian Joseph, made 
peace with Austria, — the Peace of Fiissen, — promising to give 
his vote to Francis, the husband of Maria Ilieresa, for the office 
of emperor. Francis (i 745-1 765) was crowned at Frankfort. 
Victories in Saxony on the side of Frederick led to the Treaty of 
Dresden, which left Silesia in his hands ( 1 745 ) • The most of the 
English army went back to England to fight the Pretender. The 
war went on in the Netherlands and in Italy, and between France 
and England ; the Enghsh being victors on the sea under Anson 
(1747), while the French were generally successful on the land. 
The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) provided for a reciprocal 
restoration of all conquests : Silesia was given to Frussia, and the 
Fragmatic Sanction was sustained in Austria. 

Alliance against Frederick. — Frederick the Great used the next 
eight years in doing what he could to encourage industry and to 
increase the prosperity and resources of Prussia, at the same 
time that he strengthened his military force. Prussia had evinced 
so much power in the late conflicts as to be an object of envy and 
apprehension. Maria Theresa was anxious to recover Silesia. 
Frede7'ick had a foe in Flizabeth, empress of Russia, whose per- 
sonal vices he made a subject of sarcastic remark, and who, be- 



THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 47/ 

sides, coveted Prussian provinces on tlie Baltic. An alliance was 
formed between Russia and Austria. This was joined by Saxony, 
and by Fratice ; since Louis XV. had become alarmed by the 
calculating selfishness of Frederick's policy, and was induced to 
depart from the French traditional policy, and to unite with Austria. 
The only ally of Frederick was George II. of England, which was 
then engaged in a contest with France respecting the American 
colonies (1756). 

The Seven Years' War. — Thus arose the Seven Yea?'s'' War. 
Frederick, secretly ixiformed of the plans of his enemies, anticipated 
their action by invading Saxony and caj^innng Dresden. (1756). 
At Lobositz he defeated the Austrians : he soon took eighteen 
thousand Saxon troops. He had now to encounter the military 
strength of the various nations opposed to him. With the bulk 
of his forces he marched into Bohemia, and gained a great but 
costly victory at Prague (1757). For the next six months, suc- 
cesses and reverses alternated ; but before the end of the year 
(1757) Frederick won two of his most famous triumphs, — one 
at Rassbach, over the French and the Imperialists ; and the other 
over the Austrians, at Leuthen. Frederick was now admired as 
a hero in England, and was furnished by the elder William 
Pitt, who had succeeded Newcastle, with money and troops. In 
1758 the Prussians vanquished the Russians at Zorndorf, but 
were, in turn, soon defeated by the Austrians at Hochkirch. Of 
the numerous battles in this prolonged war, in which the mili- 
tary talents of Frederick were so strikingly shown, it is possible 
to refer only to a few of the most important. He was defeated 
by the united Austrians and Russians at Kujiersdorf ; and so 
completely that he was for the moment thrown into despair, 
and wrote to his minister Finke^istein, "All is lost." In 1760 
Berlin was held for a few days by the Russians , but Frederick 
soon defeated the Austrians once more at Torgau. In 1761, 
however, his situation was in the highest degree perilous. His 
resources were apparently exhausted. Spain joined the ranks of 
his enemies. He faced them all with determined resolution, but 
he confessed in his private letters that his hopes were gone. 

End of the War. — At this time there was a turn of events in 
his favor. In Russia, Peter III., who succeeded Elizabeth, was an 
admirer of Frederick, — so much so that he wore a Prussian uni- 
form, — and hastened to conclude a peace and alliance with him 
(1762). Peter was soon dethroned and killed by Russian nobles ; 
and his queen and successor, Catherine II., recalled the troops 
sent to Frederick's aid. Nevertheless, they helped him to a victory 
over the Austrians, under the command of Daun, at Burkersdorf 
(1762). Austria, too, was exhausted and ready for peace. The 
negotiations between England and France, which ended in the 



4/8 MODERN HISTORY. 

Peace of Paris (1763), made it certain that the French armies 
would evacuate Germany. Prussia and Austria agreed to the 
Peace of Hubertsbtirg, by which Prussia retained Silesia, and 
promised her vote for the Archduke y(?j-<?///, son of Maria Theresa, 
as king of Rome and successor to the empire (1763). 

Position of Prussia. — Joseph II. succeeded his father as em- 
peror in 1765, and was associated by his mother, Maria Theresa, 
in the government of her hereditary dominions. From the con- 
clusion of the Seven Years' War, Prussia took her place as one of 
the five great powers of Europe. 

The British Indian Empire. — It was during this period that 
the empire of the British in India grew up out of the mercantile 
settlements of a trading corporation, the East India Company. 
The result was effected after a severe struggle with the French. 
After the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Mughal empire 
at Delhi declined. Insubordinate native princes admitted only a 
nominal control over them. The effect of successive Mahratta and 
Afghan invasions was such, that when England and France went 
to war in Europe, in 1745, India was broken up into different 
sovereignties, to say nothing of the great number of petty chief- 
tains who were practically independent. Pondicherry was the 
chief French settlement. For a time it seemed that in the struggle 
for control France, under the masterly guidance of Dupleix, must 
triumph. In 1756 Calcutta was taken from the English by the 
Nabob of Bengal, and many Englishmen died in the close room 
of the military prison in which they were shut up, — " the Black 
Hole." In 1757 Clive defeated a great army of the natives, with 
whom were a few French, in the decisive battle of Plassey. He 
had previously shown his indomitable courage in the seizure of 
Arcot, and in its defense against a host of besiegers. The victory 
at Plassey secured the British supremacy, which gradually extended 
itself over the country. The various local sovereignties became 
like Roman provinces. On the death of Clive, IVarren Hastings 
was made governor-general (1772). After his recall, he was im- 
peached (1788), on charges of cruelty and oppression in India, 
and his trial by the House of Lords did not end until seven years 
after it began. He was then acquitted. Among the conductors 
of the impeachment on the part of the House of Commons, were 
the celebrated orators Edmund Burke and Richard Brinsley 
Sheridan. In 1784 the power of the East-India Company had 
been restricted by the establishment of the Board of Control. Up 
to that time the Indian Empire, made up of dependent and subject 
states, had been governed by the sole authority of the company. 

Catherine II. of Russia. — Catherine II. (i 762-1 796) in her 
private life was notoriously dissolute. If she did not connive at 
the assassination of her husband, Peter III.^ she heaped gifts upon 



PARTITION OF POLAND. 479 

his murderers. In her poUcy, she aimed to strengthen Russia, 
especially towards the sea. This occasioned successful conflicts 
with the Turks. 

The Partition of Poland. — At first inimical to Frederick the 
Great, Catherine afterwards made an alliance with him. She com- 
pelled the election of one of her lovers, Poniatowski, to the throne 
of Poland. Poland was mainly Catholic ; and the Confederation of 
Bar (1768), made by the Poles to prevent the toleration of Greek 
Christians and Protestants, was defeated by a Russian army, and 
broken up. The 1 urks were worsted in the war which they made 
in defense of the confederacy. As one result, Russia gained a firm 
footing on the north coasts of the Black Sea (1774). The "free 
veto," oppression of the peasantry, their distress, and the general 
want of union and public spirit, had reduced Poland to a miserable 
condition. Catherine, however, favored no reforms there looking 
to an improvement in the consdtution. She preferred to prolong 
the anarchy and confusion. She wished to make the death of 
Poland in part a suicide. At length she invited Prussia and 
Austria to take part with her in the first seizure and partition of 
Pohsh territory (1772). Each took certain provinces. In 1793 
the second, and in 1795 the final partition of Poland, was made 
by its three neighbors. The capture of Warsaw, and the defeat 
of the national rising under Kosciiisko, obliterated that ancient 
kingdom from the map of Europe. It should be said that a large 
part of the territory that Russia acquired had once been Russian, 
and was inhabited by Greek Christians. By the division of Poland, 
Russia was brought into close contact with the Western powers. 
The Crimea was incorporated with Russia in 1 783. After a second 
war, provoked by her, with the Turks, who now had the Austrians 
to help them, the Russian boundaries through the Treaty of Jassy 
(1792) were carried to the Dniester. 



CHAPTER V. 

CONTEST OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE IN AMERICA: "WAR 
OP AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE: THE CONSTITUTION 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In this period the United States of America achieved their 
independence, and began their existence as a distinct nation. 

The English Colonies. — The English colonies south of Canada 
had become thirteen in number. In the southern part of what was 
called Carohna, Charleston, was settled in 1680. More than a 
century before (1562), a band of Huguenots under Ribault had 



480 MODERN HISTORY. 

entered the harbor of Port Royal, and given this name to it, and 
had built a fort on the river May, which they called Charlesfort 
— the Carolina — in honor of King Charles IX. of France. In 
1663 the territory thus called, south of Virginia, was granted to 
the Earl of Clarendon. In it were two distinct settlements in 
the northern part. The English philosopher yi^/^w Locke drew up 
a constitution for Carolina, never accepted by the freemen. The 
rights of the proprietors were purchased by George 11. ; and the 
region was divided (1729) into two royal provinces. North and 
Soi^lh Carolina, each province having a governor appointed by 
the king, and an assembly elected by the people. Besides the 
English, Huguenots and emigrants from the North of Ireland, as 
well as from Scotland, planted themselves in South Carolina. 
Georgia was settled hy James Oglethorpe, who made his settlement 
at Savannah. He had a charter from George II., in whose honor 
the region was named (1732). Soon the " trustees " gave up their 
charter, and the government was shaped hke that of the other 
colonies ( 1 75 2) . John Wesley, afterwards the founder of Method- 
ism, sojourned for a time in Georgia. The settlement of New 
Jersey was first made by members of the Society of Friends, or 
Quakers, sent over by William Penn, the son of an English ad- 
miral, and familiar at court. The Quakers gave up the government 
to the crown, and from 1 702 to 1 738 it formed one province with 
New York. Pennsylvania was granted to Penn himself, by the 
king, in discharge of a claim against the crown. Penn procured 
also a title to Delawai-e. He sent out emigrants in 1681, and the 
next year came himself. By him Philadelphia was founded. He 
dealt kindly with all the settlers, and made a treaty of peace and 
amity with the Indians. The government organized by Penn was 
just and liberal. In 1 703 the inhabitants of Delaware began to 
have a governing assembly of their own. 

The French Colonies. — Among the French explorers in Amer- 
ica, La Salle is one of the most famous. Having traversed the 
region of the upper lakes, he reached the Mississippi, and floated 
in his boats down to its mouth (1682). The region of the great 
river and of its tributaries, he named Louisiana, in honor of his 
king, Louis XIV. This name was applied to the whole region 
from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains. On his return. La 
Salle built Fort St. Louis. Afterwards (1684) he took part in 
an expedition from France which had for its purpose the build- 
ing of a fort at the mouth of the Mississippi, but which was so 
wrongly guided as to land on the coast of Texas. La Salle 
himself perished, while seeking to find his way to Canada. But 
a French settlement was made near the mouth of the river 
(1699), and a connection established by a series of forts with 
Ca7iada. 



ENGLISH AND FRENCH WAR IN AMERICA. 48 1 

On the principle that the country belonged to the explorer, Spain claimed 
all the southern part of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
The French claim stretched from the coast of Nova Scotia westward to the 
Great Lakes, and embraced the valley of the Mississippi to its mouth. Eng- 
land claimed the country from Labrador as far south as Florida, and west- 
ward to the Pacific. This region included within it the claims of the Dutch, 
founded on the discoveries of Henry Hudson. 

War between England and France, whenever it occurred, was 
attended with conflicts between the Enghsh and the French settle- 
ments in America. The Indians were most of them on the side 
of the French. But the fierce Iroquois in central New York, who 
wished to monopolize the fur-trade, were hostile to them. A mas- 
sacre perpetrated by these at La Chifie, WQax Montreal {i6^()), 
provoked a murderous attack of French and Indians upon the 
settlement at Schenectady, the most northern post of the Enghsh. 
This was an incident oi King William'' s War (1689). In Queen 
Anne's War (1702-17 13) Deerfield in Massachusetts was cap- 
tured and destroyed by French and Indians (1704). By an 
expedition fitted out in Massachusetts, and commanded by Sir 
William Phipps, Port Royal m. Nova Scotia was captured (1710). 
The colonies incurred great expense in fitting out expeditions 
(1709 and 1 711) against Canada, which were abandoned. The 
contest between France and England for supremacy in America 
was further continued in a series of conflicts lasting from 1 744 for 
nearly twenty years. An early event of much consequence in the 
contest known as King George's War, — a part of the war of 
the Austrian succession (p. 476), — was the capture of Louish/rg, 
an important fortified place on Cape Breton, by an expedition 
from Boston (1745). The colonists, who were with reason proud 
of their achievement, had the mortification to see this place re- 
stored to the French in the treaty of peace (1748). In these 
contests the French had the help of their Indian allies, who fell 
upon defenseless villages. The English were sometimes aided by 
the Iroquois. The English founded Halifax (1749). 

The "Old French War" (1756-1763). — The " Old French and 
Indian War " in America was a part of the Seven Years' War 
in Europe. A British officer, Gen. Braddock, led a force which 
departed from Fort Cumberland in Maryland, against Fort Du 
Qi/esne at the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany Rivers. 
Disregarding the advice of George Washington, who was on his 
staff, he allowed himself to be surprised by the Indians and the 
French, and was mortally wounded. The remains of his army 
were led by Washington, whose courage and presence of mind 
had been conspicuous, to Philadelphia (1755). Prior to the ex- 
pedition, Washington had made a perilous journey as envoy, to 
demand of the French commander his reasons for invading the 
Ohio valley. The English held Nova Scotia, and expelled from 



4^2 MODERN HISTORY. 

their homes the French Acadians, seven thousand in number, in 
a way that involved severe hardships, including the separation of 
families (1755). They were carried off in ships, and scattered 
among the colonies along the Atlantic shore. The English also 
took the forts in Acadia. There were two battles near Lake 
George (1755), in the first of which the French were victors, but 
in the second they were routed. Montcalm, the French com- 
mander, captured the English fort near Oswego, from which an 
expedition was to have been sent against the French fort at 
Niagara (1756). In 1757 he took Fort William Henry on Lake 
George. 

The Campaigns of 1758 and 1759. — The English were dissat- 
isfied at their want of success on the Continent and in America. 
But they had advantages for prosecuting the conflict. The French, 
who had been successful at the outset, had to bring their troops 
and supplies from Europe. They were, to be sure, disciplined 
troops ; but the English had the substantial strength which was 
derived from the prosperous agriculture, and still more from the 
brave and self-respecting spirit, of their American colonies. The 
elder William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham, again entered the 
cabinet, and began to manage the contest (1757). The French 
held posts at important points, — Fort Du Quesne, where Pitts- 
burg now stands, for the defense of the West ; Crown Point Siud Ti- 
conderoga on Lake Champlain, guarding the approach to Canada ; 
Niaga?'a, near the Great Lakes and the region of the fur-trade ; and 
Louisbiug, on the coast of Nova Scotia, which protected the fish- 
eries, and was a menace to New England. To seize these posts, 
and to break down the French power in America, was now the 
aim of the English. In 1758 an expedition of Gen. Abercrom- 
bie, at the head of sixteen thousand men, against Crown Point 
and Ticonderoga, was repulsed ; Lord Howe was killed, and the 
army retreated. Louisburg, to the joy of the colonies, was cap- 
tured anew by Lord Amherst (1758). Fort Du Quesne was 
taken (1758), and named Fort Pitt; Fort Frontenac on Lake 
Ontario was destroyed. The object of the campaign of 1759 was 
the conquest of Canada. Fort Niagara was captured by Sir Wil- 
liam Johnston (1759). Ticonderoga and Crozvn Point were taken, 
and the French driven into Canada. Then came the great expe- 
dition under Major-Gen. Wolfe, a most worthy and high-spirited 
young officer, which left Louisburg for the capture of Quebec, 
" the Gibraltar of America." The attempt of Wolfe to storm the 
heights in front of the city, which were defended by the army of 
Montcalm, failed of success. From a point far up the river, he 
embarked a portion of his troops in the night, and, silently de- 
scending the stream, cUmbed the heights in the rear of the city, 
and intrenched himself on the " Plains of Abraham." In the 



THE AMERICAN COLONIES. 483 

battle which took place in the morning, both commanders, Wolfe 
and Montcalm, were mortally wounded. Wolfe lived just long 
enough to be assured of victory ; Montcalm died the next day. 
Five days after the battle the town surrendered (1759). 

An incident connected with Wolfe's approach by night to Quebec is 
thus given by Mr. Parkmaii : " For full two hours the procession of boats, 
borne on the current, steered silently down the St. Lawrence. The stars 
were visible, but the night was moonless and sufficiently dark. The gen- 
eral was in one of the foremost boats ; and near him was a young midship- 
man, John Robison, afterwards professor of natural philosophy in the 
University of Edinburgh. He used to tell in his later life how Wolfe, with 
a low voice, repeated Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard to the officers 
about him. Among the rest, was the verse which his fate was soon to 
illustrate, — 

' The paths of glory lead but to the grave.' 

" 'Gentlemen,' he said, as his recital ended, 'I would rather have written 
those lines than take Quebec' None were there to tell him that the hero is 
greater than the poet." {Mo7itcalm and Wolfe, p. 287.) 

In the following year Montreal and all Canada were in the 
hands- of the English. The English colonies were safe. It was 
decided that English, not French, should be spoken in aftertimes 
on the banks of the Ohio. In the Peace of Paris (1763), France 
kept Louisiana, but had already ceded it to Spain (1762). 

Conspiracy of Pontiac. — The Indians in the West were dis- 
satisfied with the transference of Canada and the region of the 
Lakes to England. Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas, combined a 
large number of tribes, and kindled a war against the English, 
which spread from the Mississippi to Canada (1763). He captured 
eight forts, but failed to take Detroit and Fort Pitt. Three years 
passed before the Indians were completely beaten, and a treaty of 
peace concluded with their leader (1766). 

State of the Colonies : Population. — At the close of the French 
war, the population of the thirteen colonies probably exceeded 
two millions, of whom not far from one fourth were negro slaves. 
The number of slaves in New England was small. They were 
proportionately much more numerous in New York, but they 
were found principally in the Southern colonies. Quakers were 
always averse to slavery. The slave-trade was still kept up. 
Newport in Rhode Island was one of the ports where slave-ships 
frequently discharged their cargoes. 

Government. — The forms of government in the different colo- 
nies varied. All of them had their own legislative assemblies, and 
regarded them as essential to their freedom. Under Charles II., 
the charter which secured to Massachusetts its civil rights was 
annulled (1684). ViXi^QX Jaines II., the attempt was made to 
revoke all the New-England charters. Sir Edj/mnd Andros was 
appointed governor of New England, and by him the new system 



484 MODERN HISTORY. 

began to be enforced. The revolution of 1688 restored to the 
colonies their privileges ; but Massachusetts (with which Plymouth 
was now united), under its new charter (1691), no longer elected 
its governor. Prior to the Revolution, there were three forms of 
government among the colonies. Proprietary governments (that 
is, government by owners or proprietors) still remained in Pennsyl- 
vania, Delaware, and Maryland. In these the king appointed no 
officers except in the customs and admiralty courts. In Rhode 
Island and Connecticut, which like Massachusetts retained their 
c'harters, the governors were chosen by the people. New Hamp- 
shire, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North and South Carolina, 
had royal or provincial governments : the governor and council 
were appointed by the king. 

Occupations. — The chief occupation of the colonists was agri- 
culture. In the North, wheat and corn were raised. From Virginia 
and Maryland, great crops of tobacco were exported from the 
plantations, in English ships which came up the Potomac and the 
James. Rice was cultivated in the Carolinas. Indigo was also 
raised. Cotton was grown in the South. Labor in the fields in 
the Southern colonies was performed by the negroes. Building of 
ships was a profitable occupation on the coast of New England. 
The cod and other fisheries also gave employment to many, and 
proved a school for the training of seamen. The colonists were 
industrious and prosperous, but generally frugal and plain in their 
style of living. 

Education and Religion. — Common schools were early estab- 
lished by law in New England, and by the Dutch in New York. 
As Mr. Bancroft well observes, " He that will understand the po- 
litical character of New England in the eighteenth century must 
study the constitution of its towns, its congregations, its schools, 
and its militia." Harvard College was founded in 1636 ; William 
and Mary, in 1693 ; Yale, in 1 700. Eighteen years after the land- 
ing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, a printing-press was set up at 
Cambridge. In 1 704 the first American newspaper, " The Boston 
News Letter," was established. In the Puritan colonies, the minds 
of the people were quickened intellectually as well as religiously, 
by the character of the pulpit discourses. Theology was an 
absorbing theme of inquiry and discussion. In the town-meetings, 
especially in the closing part of the colonial period, political affairs 
became a subject of earnest debate. In all the colonies, the 
representative assemblies furnished a practical training in political 
life. In the Eastern colonies, the people were mostly Congrega- 
tionalists and Calvinists : Presbyterians were numerous in the 
Middle States. In Virginia the Episcopal Church was supported by 
legislative authority ; and it was favored, though not established 
bylaw, in New York. In Pennsylvania, while there was freedom 



REVOLT AGAINST TAXATION. 485 

in religion, the Quakers "still swayed legislation and public 
opinion." Philadelphia, with its population of thirty thousand, 
was the largest city in America, and was held in high esteem for 
its intelligence and refinement. 

Complaints of the Colonies. — The colonists all acknowledged 
the authority of king and parliament, but they felt that they had 
brought with them across the ocean the rights of Englishmen. 
One thing that was more and more complained of was the laws 
compelhng the colonies to trade with the "mother country" ex- 
clusively, and the enactments laying restraint on their manufac- 
tures. In the conflicts with the Indians from time to time, the 
necessity had arisen for leagues ; and, more than once, congresses 
of delegates had met. One of these was held at Albany in 1754, 
where Benjamin Franklin was present. In the Old French War, 
there had been a call for concert of action, and a deepening of the 
sense of common interests and of being really one people. 

New Grounds of Disaffection. — The colonies had taxed them- 
selves in the French War ; but the condition of the finances in Eng- 
land at the close of it inspired the wish there to enforce the laws of 
trade more rigidly in America, and to levy additional taxes upon 
the provinces. These English laws were so odious that they were 
often evaded. The writs of assistance in Massachusetts authorized 
custom-house officers to search houses for smuggled goods (1761). 
In the legal resistance to this measure, a sentence was uttered by 
a Boston patriot, James Otis, which became a watchword. " Taxa- 
tion," he said, " without representation is tyranny." Taxation, it 
was contended, must be ordained by the local colonial assemblies 
in which the tax-payers are represented. But the Stamp Act 
(1765), requiring for legal and other documents the use of stamped 
paper, was a form of taxation. It excited indignation in all the 
colonies, especially in Virginia and in New England. In all the 
measures of resistance, Virginia and Massachusetts were foremost. 
Patrick Henry, an impassioned, patriotic orator, in the Virginia 
Legislature, was very bold in denouncing the obnoxious Act, and 
the alleged right to tax the colonies which it implied. This right 
was denied in a Congress where nine colonies were represented, 
which met in New York in 1765. They called for the repeal of 
the Stamp Act, and declared against the importation of English 
goods until the repeal should be granted. William Pitt, in the 
House of Commons, eulogized the spirit of the colonies. The 
Stamp Act was repealed. The discussions which it had provoked 
in America had awakened the whole people, and made them 
watchful against this sort of aggression. Political topics engrossed 
attention. When Parliament ordered that the colonies should 
support the troops quartered on them, and that the royal officers 
should have fixed salaries, to be obtained, not by the voluntary 



486 MODERN HISTORY. 

grants of colonial legislatures, but by the levy of new duties, there 
was a renewed outburst of disaffection, especially in New York and 
Boston (1768). By way of response to a petition that was sent 
to the king against these Acts of Parliament, four regiments of 
troops were sent to Boston. Their presence was a bitter griev- 
ance. In one case, there was bloodshed in a broil in the street 
between the populace and the soldiers, which was called "The 
Boston Massacre " (1770). An influential leader of the popular 
party in Boston was the stanch Puritan patriot, Samuel Adams. 

Progress of the Controversy. — After the other taxes were 
repealed, the tax on tea remained in force. A mob of young 
men, disguised as Indians, went on board three vessels in Boston 
Harbor, and threw overboard their freight of tea (1773). Before, 
there had been outbreakings of popular wrath against the stamp- 
officers. Their houses had been sometimes attacked : they had 
been burnt in effigy, and in some cases driven to resign. In 
general, however, the methods of resistance had been legal and 
orderly. When the news of the destruction of the tea reached 
England, Parliament retaliated by passing the Boston Port Bill 
(1774), which closed that port to the exportation or importation 
of goods, except food or fuel. The courts, moreover, were given 
the power to send persons charged with high crimes to England, 
or to another colony, for trial. To crown all. General Gage, the 
commander of the British troops, was made Governor of Massa- 
chusetts. 

The First Continental Congress. — In order to produce con- 
cert of action, committees of correspondence between the several 
colonies were established. The First Continental Congress, com- 
posed of delegates from the colonies, was convened in Philadelphia 
(1774). The remedies to which they resorted were, addresses to 
the king and to the people of Great Britain ; an appeal for support 
to Canada ; and a resolve not to trade with Great Britain until 
there should be a redress of grievances. 

Concord and Bunker Hill. — The Legislature in Massachusetts, 
which Gage would not recognize, formed itself into the " Provin- 
cial Congress." The first collision took place at Concord (April 
^9' ^775) J where a detachment of British troops was sent to 
destroy the military stores gathered by this body. On Lexington 
Green, the British troops fired on the mihtia, and killed seven men. 
Arriving at Concord, they encountered resistance. There the first 
shot was fired by America in the momentous struggle, — " the shot 
heard round the world." A number were killed on both sides, and 
the attacking force was harassed all the way on its return to 
Boston. The people everywhere rose in arms. Men flocked from 
their farms and workshops to the camp which was formed near 
Boston. Israel Putnam, who had been an officer in the French 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 487 

War, left his plow in the iield at his home in Connecticut, and 
rode to that place, a distance of sixty-eight miles, in one day. 
Stark from New Hampshire, and G?'eene from Rhode Island, 
soon arrived. 

The Second Continental Congress, in session at Philadelphia, 
assumed control of military operations in all the colonies. At the 
suggestion first made by John Adams of Massachusetts, Colonel 
George Washington of Virginia was unanimously appointed com- 
mander-in-chief. His mingled courage and prudence, his lofty and 
unselfish patriotism, his admirable sobriety of judgment, and his 
rare power of self-control, connected as it was with a not less rare 
power of command, and with a firmness which no disaster could 
shake, made him one of the noblest of men. Before he reached 
Cambridge, where he assumed command of the gathering forces 
(July 3, 1775), he received the news of the battle oi Bunker Hill, 
in which the provincial soldiers, under Putnam and Prescott, made 
a stand against the " regulars," as the British troops were called, 
and retreated only on the third assault, and when their ammuni- 
tion had given out. Dr. Joseph Warren, a leading Boston patriot, 
was slain in the battle. Before this time, Fort Ticonderoga had 
been qaptured by Ethan Allen, and cannon been sent from it to 
aid 4n the siege of Boston (1775). But an attack on Quebec by 
Arnold and Montgomery, who entered Canada by different routes, 
failed of its object. Before British reinforcements arrived, the 
American troops abandoned Canada. In the attack on Quebec, 
Montgomery fell, and Arnold-was severely wounded (Dec. 31, 1 775). 

Independence. — Only a brief sketch can here be given of the 
seven years' struggle of the United Colonies. On the 4th of July, 
1776, the Declaration of Independence, drawn up in the main 
by Thomas Jefferson, and of which John Adams was the most 
eloquent advocate on the floor of Congress, passed that body. 
It was signed by the President, John Hancock, and fifty-five 
members. The colonies easily converted themselves into States, 
nearly all of them framing new constitutions. Thirteen Articles 
of Confederation made them into a league, under the name of 
the United States of America, each State retaining its sovereignty 
(1777). Franklin, an old man, and respected in Europe as 
well as at home for his scientific attainments as well as for his 
sturdy sagacity, went to France as their envoy. Among the sol- 
diers who came from Europe to join the Americans were La 
Fayette, — a young French nobleman, who was inspired with a zeal 
for liberty, and was not without a thirst for fame, which, however, 
he desired to merit, — and Steuben, an officer trained under Fred- 
erick the Great. In Parliament, the Whig orators spoke out man- 
fully for the American cause. The king hired German troops for 
the subjugation of its defenders. 



488 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Events of the War. — The maneuvers of Washington 
forced Gage to evacuate Boston. The American general then 
undertook the defense of New York. The British forces, to the 
number of thirty thousand, under Ge?i. Howe, and Admiral Howe 
his brother, were collected on Staten Island. The Americans were 
defeated in a battle on Long Island (Aug. 27, 1776), and could 
not hold the city. It remained in the hands of the British to the 
end of the war. Washington withdrew his troops to White Plains. 
Fort Washington and Fort Lee were lost. The American com- 
mander, followed by Lord Cormvallis, retreated slowly through 
New Jersey (1776). These were serious reverses. By bold and 
successful attacks at Trenton and Princeton, the depressed spirits 
of the army and the country were revived. In the spring of 1777 
Howe sought to capture Philadelphia, and landed his forces at 
the head of Chesapeake Bay. The Americans were defeated 
at Brandywine (Sept. 10) ; and Philadelphia, which had been 
the seat of Congress, was, like New York, in the possession of the 
British. Their policy was to isolate New England. To this end, 
Gen. Burgoyne, with a large army of French and Indians, came 
down from the north of Lake Champlain. A detachment of his 
forces was defeated by Stark at Bennington. Biii-goyne himself 
was obliged to surrender, with six thousand men, to Gates, at 
Saratoga (Oct. 17). This event made its due impression abroad. 
France recognized the independence of the United States, and 
entered into an alliance with them. This alliance was a turning- 
point in the struggle. Washington' s army, ill-clad and ill-fed, suf- 
fered terribly in the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge ; but he 
shared in their rough fare, and their discipline was much improved 
by the drill which they received there from Steuben. Sir Henry 
Clinton left Philadelphia in order that the British forces might be 
concentrated in New York. He was overtaken by Washington, 
and the battle of Monmouth took place, which was, on the whole, 
a success for the Americans. The design of the British to separate 
New England from the rest of the States had failed. Wa<;hington 
was again at White Plaitts. They now began operations in the 
Southern States. Among the occurrences in this period of the war 
were the massacre of the settlements in the valley of the Wyoming, 
in Pennsylvania, by the Indian auxiliaries of the British ; the sur- 
render of Savannah, and with it Georgia and Charleston, by the 
Americans ; the gallant storming of Stony Point, on the Hudson, 
by Wayne (July 15, 1779), and a brilliant naval victory of Paul 
Jones in a desperate engagement with two British frigates near 
the north-eastern coast of England (Sept. 1779). The American 
" partisan leaders," Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, carried forward 
an irregular but harassing warfare in South Carolina. At Camden, 
Gates was defeated by Cornwallis ; and Baron de Kalb, a brave 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 489 

French officer, of German extraction, in the American service, fell 
(Aug. 16, 1780). In this year (1780) Benedict Arnold's treason 
was detected ; and Major Andre, a British officer through whom 
Arnold had made arrangements for giving up the fortress of West 
Point to the enemy, was taken captive, and executed as a spy. In 
the next year Gen. Nathanael Greene conducted military opera- 
tions in Georgia and the Carolinas with much skill, and succeeded 
in pressing the army of Lord Cornwallis into the peninsula formed 
by the York and James Rivers in Virginia. Thither the French 
fleet sailed under Count De Grasse ; and Washington, by forced 
marches, was enabled to join with the French in surrounding the 
British works at Yorktown. On the day when Clinton left Nevv^ 
York, at the head of his forces, to unite with Cornwallis, that 
officer surrendered, with his entire army of seven thousand men, 
to Washington (1781). This blow was fatal to the British cause. 
The independence of the United States was recognized by Holland, 
Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Russia (1782). The war had been 
prolonged by the personal obstinacy of George III., against the 
wishes of his minister. Lord North. The surrender of Cornwallis 
made it plain that further effort to conquer America was hopeless. 
Spain and Holland had joined hands with France, but Rodney 
had, won a great naval victory over De Grasse (April 12, 1782). 
By the treaty of peace, signed at Paris and Versailles (1783), 
England recognized the independence of her former colonies. 

America at the Close of the War. — The Congress during the 
war had issued paper money to the amount of twenty millions of 
dollars. It had no power to lay taxes, or to compel the States to 
pay their several portions of the public indebtedness. The States 
themselves were poor, and largely in debt. They surrendered, 
however, their unoccupied public lands to the United States. In 
1787 Congress made one territory of the district north-west of 
the Ohio River, which Virginia had ceded, and by an ordinance 
excluded slavery from it for ever. 

The Constitution. — The lack of one system of law for the 
different States in reference to duties on imports, and on various 
other matters of common concern, and disorders springing up in 
different places, inspired an anxious desire for a stronger central 
government. A convention, over which Washington presided, 
met in Philadelphia in 1787, and formed the new Constitution. 
Hamilton of New York and Madison of Virginia were leading 
members. There was much opposition to the new plan of gov- 
ernment which they agreed upon, but it was finally adopted by all 
the States. It supplied the defects of the old confederation by 
uniting national with federal elements. To the Senate, made up 
of two delegates from each State, it added a House of Repj-esenta- 
tives, where the number of members from each State was made 



490 MODERN HISTORY. 

proportionate to the population. It put the general government, 
within the limit of its defined functions, into a direct relation to 
the citizens, and gave to it judicial and executive departments to 
carry out and enforce its legislation. It committed to the central 
authority the management of foreign affairs, and various other 
powers necessary for the preservation of peace and unity in the 
land, and for the securing of the common weal of the whole coun- 
try. Washington was unanimously chosen as the first president 
of the Republic, and. John Adams was chosen vice-president. The 
first Congress met in New York in April, 1789, although the day 
appointed was March 4. 



CHAPTER VI. 

LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND RELIGION. 

I.ITERATURE. 

I . FRANCE. 

Poetry and the Drama. — The literature of France in the age of Louis 
XIV. was classical in its spirit. The ancient Greek and Roman writers were 
admired and imitated. The Renaissance was now to run its course. The 
French Academy, founded by Richelieu, undertook to regulate and improve 
the French language. Measure, finish, elegance, were demanded by the reign- 
ing taste, in all literary productions. Corneille (1606-1684), the father of 
French tragedy, was the most virile of the French dramatists. Racine 
(1639-1699), who followed, if less grand, was more pathetic. We find, how- 
ever, in writers of genius, — even in the great preachers, as Bourdaloue and 
Massillon, who formed a type of pulpit eloquence peculiar to France, — a tend- 
ency to what seems now a stilted style. The master in comedy was Moliere 
(1622-1673), an actor, as well as an author of inimitable humor. One of the 
most popular of French authors has been La Fontaine (1621-1695), whose 
fables have charmed multitudes by their smooth versification, as well as by 
their contents. Boileau (1636-1711), the Horace of France, prescribed, as a 
lawgiver, rules upon the " Art of Poetry," and himself wrote satires and other 
poems of high merit. 

Prose Literature. — Bossuet (i 627-1 704) was an eloquent preacher and 
historical writer, and an expert theological polemic of the liberal Catholic 
school. Of a very different tone is RochefoucatUd, whose Maxims, expressed 
in pithy language, seek to trace all virtuous action to self-seeking. The 
French fondness for epigram — for terse, paradoxical statement — is exem- 
plified even in the best writers, as, for example, Blaise Pascal. La Briiyh-e 
(1645-1696), a genial philosopher, wrote in a most attractive style a work 
entitled 77/.? Characters of Our Age. The metaphysician Malebranche (1638- 
1715) taught that we know through our spiritual union with God, or that we 
see all things in God. A disciple of Des Cartes, he did not strictly follow 
his master. Fenelon (1651-1715), illustrious for his piety as well as for his 
versatile authorship, wrote on religious topics and on education. Of all 
his writings, his Telemachics, composed for the young Duke of Burgundy, his 
pupil, has been the most read. The letters of Madame de Shngne, addressed 
to her daughter, and not meant for publication, present most graphic descrip- 
tions of the characters and occurrences of the day. 



LITERATURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, 49! 

The Eighteenth Century. — When we cross the limit of the eigh- 
teenth century, we meet with growing signs of skepticism in religion, and of 
innovation in political thought. Criticism of the past, of traditional creeds 
and established institutions, is spreading. The Histoi-ical and Critical Dic- 
tionary of Bayle, a storehouse of chronicle and anecdote, is leavened with the 
spirit of doubt. Three great writers deserve special attention. Montesquieu 
(16S9-1755) satirized all dogma in his /Vr««« Z^'^/^rj. His celebrated work 
on the Spirit of Laws is just and humane in its tone, and full of original and 
inspiring views on history and government. He is one of the founders of 
modern political science. Voltaire (1694-1778), the most popular of all 
the writers of his age, was the incarnation of its critical and skeptical spirit, the 
highest example of its wit as of its levity, and of the artificial character of its 
literary ideals. He was play-writer, poet, historian, critic, and brilliant con- 
verser, all in one. In religion, a scoffer not only at superstition, but at all 
beliefs and rites which imply revelation, he still clung to the belief in a 
personal God. His creed was deism. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) 
was, like Voltaire, a deist in his creed; but in religion, as in all his mental 
action, there was a vein of sentiment. By the fascination of his style, he was 
able, in his various writings, including his autobiographical Confessions, to 
interest profoundly multitudes of readers of both sexes, and even to move 
them to sympathy with himself in a career which deserves not less abhor- 
rence than commiseration. He was, perhaps, the first author to evoke in 
others a genuine relish, which he felt himself, for the wild scenery of nature. 
In his Social Contract he maintained that government grows out of a con- 
tract of individuals with one another, all of whom in the state of nature are 
free and independent. He carried to a great extreme an idea which in Eng- 
land had been held by Hooker, and more explicitly expounded by Locke. 
His doctrine furnished a theory for the political revolution in France. The 
" Encyclopaedists " went much beyond Voltaire and Roussean. D'Alembert, 
Helvetins, Holbuch, advocated atheism and materialism. Condillac (1715- 
1780) sought to reduce this species of infidelity to an exact philosophical sys- 
tem by tracing even conscience to sensation and self-interest. All religious 
sentiment was condemned as morbid illusion. 

II. GERMANY. 

In Germany, the great name in philosophy is that of Leibnitz (1646-1716), 
a rival of Newton m mathematics and natural science, and an eminent 
thinker in metaphysics, theology, and in jurisprudence. In intellect and in 
variety of attainments, he is almost the peer of Aristotle. Wolf {i6yg-iy^i^) 
his discijile, systemized and modified his philosophical views. Klopstock 
(1724-1S03), the author of Messiah, written somewhat after the manner of 
the Paradise Lost of Milton, excelled the other German poets of his day. 
Frederick the Great treated with disrespect the native literary products of his 
country. Yet a new era in German letters and criticism was opened by Les- 
sing (1729-1781), a poet, and a critic of admirable insight, whose influence in 
this direction in Germany has been likened in its power to that of Luther 
in religion. 

III. ITALY. 

In the eighteenth century, there was a new revival of literature in Italy, 
Vice (1668-1744) almost made an epoch in the scientific treatment of history 
and mythology; in political economy and in archeology, there were numerous 
explorers; Florence became once more a seat of learning. Beccaria (1738- 
1794) by his writings introduced more humane views in criminal jurispru- 
dence. Volta (1745-1827), an electrician, constructed the instrument called 
the voltaic pile. Metastasio (1698-1782) fostered the melodrama, or Italian 
opera, by his dramatic writings. Goldoni (1707-1793), a Venetian, was the 
most eminent writer of comedies. Tragedy reached its acme in the works 
of Alfieri ( 1 749-1803), the founder of a new school. 



492 MODERN HISTORY. 



IV. ENGLAND. 

In England, after the Restoration, the influence of French standards in 
literature is obvious. The drama declined, partly from the earlier antagonism 
of the Puritans, and partly from the rage for indecency which infected the 
dramatic writers, — even those of much ability, as Congrroe, — and defiled 
the stage. The Pilgrim's Progress of Bunyan (1628-S8) is written in a plain, 
unaffected style, and is the most popular work of that age. In sharp con- 
trast with Biinyaii is Butler's Hudibras, a witty satire, in doggerel verse, 
upon Puritanism. The principal writer, prior to Queen Anne, is Diyden 
(1631-1700). We have passed now from the Roma^itic school of poetry, in 
which Shakspeare is the most exalted name, to the Classical school. In 
the age of Queen An7ie, Pope (16S8-1744), with his vigor, without elevation, 
of thought, his smooth versification and bright wit, is the principal figure. 
The same period produced the labored novels of Richardson {1689-1761), 
and the vigorous and lifelike fictions of Fielding (i 707-1 754), which are, 
unhappily, disfigured by coarse and licentious passages. In the early part of 
the century, Addison ( 1 672-17 1 9) and Steele (i 672-1 729) were the most dis- 
tinguished essayists. In them, as in the novels of Defoe (1661-1731), the 
author of Robinsojt Crusoe, and in the prose writings of Sivift (1667-1745), 
the richness and idiomatic force of the English tongue are seen ; while in 
Satnuel Johnson, the literary dictator in the latter part of the century, the 
author of the English Dictionary, of The Rambler, the Lives of the Poets, and 
Rasselas, we have a striking and contagious example of a stately, sounding, 
Latinized diction. In pleasing contrast, as regards style, which charms from 
its simplicity, are the writings of Goldsmith (1728-74). In poetry. Gray 
(17 16-71), the author of the Elegy in a Coitiitry Churchyard, and Collins 
(1721-59), wrote little, but wrote well. The triumvirate of great English 
historians of the century are Hume, Robertson, and Gibbon. Gibbon's Decline 
and Fall of the Roman Empire is a monument of masterly ability and of vast 
research ; a work, however, marred by a want of naturalness in style, and, 
still more, by a lack of religious faith and reverence, and by impurity of 
tone and allusion. Hu7ne^s style is one of his chief claims to esteem as 
an historian ; for he was indolent in his researches, and prejudiced in his 
views. He merited distinction chiefly as an economist and a metaphysician. 

Philosophy. — In English philosophy, there are several writers of ex- 
traordinary talents and influence. John Locke (1632-1704), an upright man 
and a lover of freedom, wrote the celebrated Essay on the U7idersta7iding, 
besides other important works in political science and theology. He traced 
all our knowledge to two sources, sensation and reflection, ultimately to the 
first of these. Berkeley (1685-1753) advocated with rare genius an ideal 
theory of matter, and defended theism. Hume (171 1-76) indirectly gave 
rise to much of the later philosophy, by his acute speculations in behalf 
of skepticism as to the reality of human knowledge and the foundation of 
accepted beliefs. Reid (1710-96) rescued philosophy from the attacks of 
Hume by the doctrine of " common sense," and thus founded the Scottish 
school of metaphysicians. Among the numerous authors who cultivated 
both philosophy and theology, particular distinction belongs to Dr. Samuel 
Clarke (1675-1729), and to Bishop Joseph Butler (1692-1752) who wrote 
briefly, but with marked power, on the nature of conscience, and on the 
Analogy between religion and what we know of the constitution and course 
of nature. 

Ne-wton: Adam Smith. — Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), the discoverer 
of the law of gravitation, made, through his Principia, one of the most 
important contributions ever made to the advancement of physical science. 
In 1776 Adam Smith, a Scotchman, who had previously written on meta- 
physics and politics, published his treatise on The Wealth of Nations, the 



RELIGION AND THEOL()GV. 493 

first complete system of political economy. He showed that money is not 
wealth, but simply one product serving as a means of exchange. He made 
it clear, that, for one nation to gain in trade, it is not requisite that another 
should lose. Much light was thrown on political economy by essays of 
Hume. 



The most notable American writers before the War of Independence 
were yonathan Edwards (1703-58), a great metaphysical genius, and the 
founder of a school in theology; and Benjamin Franklin (1706-90), whose 
writings, in excellent English, related mainly to ethical and economical 
topics. As the Revolution approached, there sprung up authors of ability 
on the political questions of the day. The Federalist, written after the war, 
by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, in favor of the proposed Constitution, is a 
work of high merit, as regards both matter and style. 

NATURAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 

The inductive method, or the " Baconian " method of observation and 
experiment, began to bear rich fruits. Sir Isaac Alewton (i 642-1 727) not 
only discovered the law of gravitation : other discoveries by him in mechan- 
ics and optics were of great moment in the progress of those sciences. 
Fluxions, or the differential calculus, was discovered independently by both 
Newton and Leibnitz. Eider, a Swiss mathematician of the highest ability 
(1707-1783), contributed essentially to the advancement of mechanics. Napier 
invented logarithms, to shorten mathematical calculations. Hnygens, a Dutch 
philosopher (1629-1695), invented the pendulum clock. Gregory (1638-1675) 
invented the reflectmg telescope. Halley, an English astronomer (1656- 
1742), gave his name to a comet whose return he predicted. Guericke m- 
v&n\.zA {\(&o),?i.\\A Robert Boyle (1627-1691) perfected, the air-pump. Boyle 
was active in founding the Royal Society (1660). Volta, by the invention 
of the pile called by his name, and Franklin, signally advanced the study of 
electricity. In the history of zoology, Bnffon is a great name, as is that 
of Lavoisier in chemistry. Li7inceus, a Swede, born in the same year with 
Buffon (1707), attained to the highest distinction by reducing botany to a 
system. The lives of the eminent astronomers Zrt^rrt/i'^^ (1736-1813), Laplace 
(1749-1827), and Sir William Herschel (1738-1822), outlasted the eighteenth 
century. 

The radical improvement of the steam-engine by James Watt, a Scotch- 
man (1736-1819), — who obtained his first patent in 1769, — and the invention 
of the spinning-jenny by Richard Arkivright (i 732-1 792), are indicative of a 
new era of progress in the application of science to practical arts and uses. 

RELIGION AND THEOLOGY. 

English Deism. — The religious debates and the religious wars of the 
seventeenth century were followed by much indifference and disbelief in 
the eighteenth. Weariness with sectarian struggles, and revolt against the 
yoke of creeds, were pushed to the extreme of a denial of revealed religion, — 
finally, in France, to a denial of the truths of natural religion also. In Eng- 
land, there appeard a school of deistical writers, beginning earlier with Lord 
Herbert of Cherbury (i 581-1648), and continued through Tindal, Morgan, 
Bolitigbroke, Shaftesbury, Collins, and others. On the other side, Butler, 
Lardner (1684-176S), Bentlcy, the best of England's classical scholars and 
critics (1662-1742), and, later, Paley (1743-1805), were among the authors 
who defended the divine origin of Christianity on rational and historical 
grounds. Of these writers, Butler was the most profound, Lardner and 
Bentley the most learned, and Paley the most lucid. 



494 MODERN HISTORY. 

The "Quakers." — During this period, the Society of Friends, "Qua- 
kers," was founded in England by George Fox (1624-1691), who in 1647, i™- 
palled by what he considered a divine call, began the life of an itinerant 
preacher. He and his followers were subjected frequently to cruel persecu- 
tion, both in England and America. In exceptional cases, they fell into ex- 
travagances of enthusiasm, interrupted public worship, walked in the streets 
clothed in sackcloth, or in some instances naked. They condemned war, 
practiced non-resistance, objected to oaths and to a paid ministry, and set an 
example of the utmost plainness and simplicity in speech and dress. Among 
their many converts were William Penn, and their able and learned theo- 
logian, Robert Barclay (1648-1690). The Friends, by their Christian forbear- 
ance and patience, their purity of conduct and their philanthropy, and their 
tranquil piety, gradually won the respect of the other religious bodies, who 
were at first offended by their novel tenets and manners, and by the occa- 
sional occurrence of revolting manifestations of a half-insane enthusiasm. 

Methodism. — Of the religious movements in Protestant countries, Meth- 
odism is the most noteworthy. This movement was originated by a little 
group of students at Oxford, of whom yo/i7i Wesley, his brother Charles, 
and George Whitefield were the chief. Of these, yc//;/ Wesley (i 703-1 791) 
united with intellectual ability and cultivation, and religious fervor, a remark- 
able organizing capacity. Whitefield was an orator in the pulpit, of un- 
rivaled eloquence. He was a Calvinist in his theology, and separated from 
Wesley on account of Wesley's Arminian views. They were nicknamed 
" Methodists," from their strictness of life in the University, and their sys- 
tematic ways. Wesley and his associates preached to the common people in 
England, including the poor colliers and miners, with untiring ardor and 
surprising effect. Their converts were very numerous, and were formed into 
societies under a definite polity and discipline. The Wesleyan movement 
was much opposed in the Church of England by those who stood in dread 
of enthusiasm. By ordaining lay preachers and superintendents for America, 
and by putting its chapels under the protection of the Toleration Act, — 
measures which Wesley deemed necessary, — Methodism became separate 
from the Anglican Established Church. As a distinct body, it gained a 
multitude of adherents in England and America. 

Moravianism. — In 1722 a company of persecuted Moravian Christians 
was received by Count Zinzendoifi yi'joo-i'jbo) on his estate, situated on the 
borders of Bohemia. They founded a town called Herrnhut. Zinzendorf 
became their bishop. The new community was distinguished for sincere 
piety and for missionary zeal. They did not in the least antagonize the 
Lutheran churches, yet had an organization of their own. Some of them 
settled in America. The Moravians never became a very numerous body; 
but their influence in promoting spiritual religion and education, and in 
carrying Christianity to the heathen, has been more potent than that of many 
larger bodies of Christians. It was specially wholesome in Germany, at a 
time when, under the auspices of Frederick the Great, the French type of 
unbelief prevailed in the higher classes of society. 

Pietism. — Prior to Zinzendorf, Spener (1635-1705), a man of devout 
feeling, had given rise to the " Pietists," as the promoters of a warmer type 
of religious experience than was approved by the current opinion were 
derisively named. 

Swedenborg. — Swedenborg {\(i%%-\ii2), a Swedish noble, a mathema- 
tician and naturalist of large attainments, communicated, in copious writings, 
what he smcerely professed to consider special revelations made to him 
respecting God, the unseen world, and the sense of the Scriptures. His 
adherents are called "The New Church," or Swedenborgians. 

The Jesuit Order. — Under the influences that had sway in the eigh- 
teenth century, the authority of the popes sank in the Catholic countries. 
The spirit of innovation was rife. One of the remarkable incidents of the 



POLITICAL REFORM. — EUROPE. 495 

time, characteristic of its tendency, was tlie conflict of Portugal and tlie Bour- 
bon courts of France and Spain, with the Society of Jesuits. The Jesuits 
had secretly established, unobserved, a state under their own exclusive con- 
trol in Paraguay, a part of which, by a treaty of Portugal with Spain, fell to 
Portugal. Other charges, some relating to interference in political affairs, 
and some to other and different grounds of complaint, led to the expulsion 
of the order from all Portuguese territory (1757); and soon after, it was 
suppressed in France and in Spain, and in several of the Italian states. The 
Jesuit order was formally abolished by Pope Clet?ient XIV. in 1773, to be 
again restored by papal authority in 18 14. 

ESSAYS AT POLITICAL REFORM. 

Russia: Germany. — The minds of men were unsettled, not 
only by the prevalent tone of literature and speculation, but by 
governmental charges and reforms. The disposition was to in- 
troduce French methods of administration. Catherine II. of 
Russia ( 1 762-1 796) tried the experiment of various judicial and 
educational reforms. Frederick the Great, with more wisdom 
and consistency, introduced many changes for the benefit of the in- 
dustrial class. The most sweeping reforms were undertaken by 
the Emperor Joseph II. (i 780-1 790), after the death of his 
mother, Maria Theresa. His measures for the reduction of the 
power of the clergy and of the nobility, the closing of monasteries, 
and the weakening of the connection of the Austrian Church with 
Rome, were of a very radical character. He himself finally be- 
came convinced that they were too radical to be completely real- 
ized, in the existing state of opinion among his subjects. Two of 
his reforms — the abolition of serfdom, and the edict of religious 
toleration — remained in force. The other changes did not sur- 
vive him. The ttempts to impose his reforms in the Austrian 
Netherlands provoked an insurrection. Leopold II. (i 790-1 792), 
Joseph's , uccesso: , suppressed the Belgian revolt, but repealed the 
ordinances of his brother which had occasioned it. 

Tuscany. — In Tuscany, the brother of Joseph II., Leopold, 
prior to his becoming emperor, undertook likewise a great plan 
of ecclesiastical reform in the same line as that oi Joseph (1786) ; 
but there the opposition of the bishops prevented him from prac- 
tically carrying out his scheme. 

Portugal. — In Portugal, the house of Braganza had ascended 
the throne in 1640. Joseph Emanuel (1750-1777) left the man- 
agement of the government to his minister, Poinbal. His measures 
were contrived to weaken the power of the nobles and the clergy. 
By him the warfare against the Jesuits was carried forward. The 
fall of Pombal, which followed the death of the king, led to the 
abolition of all his reforms, which had the same fate as those 
undertaken later in Austria hy Joseph II 

Literature. — See the lists of works on pp. 16, 395, 450, and Adams's Mamial of Historical 
Literature ; Schlosser's History of the Eigliteenth Century (8 vols.) ; Noorden's Euro- 
paische Gesch. im iStn. Jahr. : Der Spanische Erbfolgekrieg (2 vols.) ; Lord John 



496 



MODERN HISTORY. 



Wakeman, European History, 1598-1715; Hassall, European History, 1715-1789; Perkins, 
Regency and Louis XV. (3 vols.) ; St. Simon, The Memoirs of the Reign of Lotiis XIV. 
and the Regency [an abridgment, 3 vols.]; Voltaire, .A.ge of Louis XIV.; Philippson (in 
Oncken's Series), Das Zeitalter Liidivigs d. Vierzehten; A. de Broglie, Louis XV. : The 
King's Secret Correspondence with his Agents, etc. (2 vols,) ; A. Thiers, The Mississippi 
Buible ; Motley's Life of Voltaire, and Lzfe of Rousseau. 

A. v. Arneth, Geschichte Maria Theresas (10 vols., 1863-79) • Duncker, Aus der Zeit 
Friedrichs d. Grossen, etc.; Ranke, Memoirs of tlie House of Brandeiiburg, and His- 
tory of Prussia during the Sevetiteenth and Eighteenth Centuries (3 vols ) ; Carlyle's 
History of Frederick the Second (6 vols.); Tuttle, History of Prussia (4 vols.); Von 
Raumer, Frederick the Second and his Times ; A. de Broglie, Frederick the Great and 
Maria Theresa (2 vols.) ; Oncken, Das Zeitalter Friedrich d. Grossen (2 vols.). 

The Diaries of Pepvs and Evelyn ; R. Vaughan, Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell ; 
Macaulay's History of Englattd from the Accession of James H. (4 vols.) ; M.^hon's 
History of Englatid (1701-13), also History of England {iTi'i to 1783) (7 vols.) ; Burton, 
History of the Reign of Queen Anne ; E. E. Morris, The Age of Amie ; Alison, Military 
Life of the Duke of Marlborotcgh ; Life of Marlborough, by Gleig, by Coxe (3 vols.); 
\.,KCK.\'s History of England in the Eighteenth Century {2 \o\s.); Froude, The Ejiglish 
in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century (2 vols.); Mahan, Influence of the Sea Power on 
History; Y.^e.xlon, Short History of British Colonial Policy ; Seeley, The Expansion of 
Engla7id ; Payne, European Colo?iies ; Lucas, Introduction to a Historical Geography 
of the British Colonies ; H. Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of George II. (3 vols.), and 
of George III. (4 vols); J. G. Phillimore, History of England during the Reign of 
George III.; ']. KAq\^\\w9,, History of England [1760-83] (3 vols.); Wraxall (1751-1831), 
Historical Memoirs cf his own Time (4 vols.), and Posthumous Memoirs of his own Time 
(3 vols.); May, Constitutional History of England [1760-1860] (2 vols.); Stoughton, 
History of Religion in England from the Openi7ig of the Long Parliament to the End of 
the Eighteenth Century (6 vols. ) ; Tyer.man's Life of Wesley ; Southey's Life of Wesley ; 
I^K-RUhVi's Life of Whitefeld ; Tx'L'B.-r's History of American Literature ; Van Laun, 
History of French Literature (3 vols.); Morlev's Series oi English Men of Letters ; 
Taine's History 0/ English Literature. 

Schuyler's Life of Peter the Great ; Catherine II., Memoirs written by herself; Ram- 
baud's History of Russia. 

Histories of the United States by Bancroft, Hildreth, McMaster, Bryant and Howard, 
Doyle, Wilson, Laboulaye, Neumann. Fiske, Schouler ; Winsor, Narrative and Critical 
History of America (8 vols.); Hart, American History told by Coiitemporaries (4 vols.); 
Macdonald, Select Charters and Select Documetits ; Preston, Documents ; Channing, 
The United States of America (1765-1865); YW%%\a's,ovi, Larger History of the United 
States ; Goldwin Smith, The United States ; Lodge's Short History of the English Colo- 
nies in America ; Parkman's Series of Histories of the French in America ; Frothingham, 
Rise of the Republic [to 1790] ; Weeden, Ecotiomic and Social History of New England ; 
Palfrey's History of New England ; Sabine's American Loyalists ; Bruce, Economic 
History of Virginia; Trevelyan, The American Revolution (1766-76); Lossing, Field 
Book of the American Revolution ; Fiske's Old Virgiiiia and Dutch and Quaker Colo- 
nies ; brief treatment of epochs by Fisher, Thwaites, Hart, Sloane, Walker. 

Lives of Washington, by Marshall, Sparks, Irving, Weems ; Zz7;^.r of John Adams, by 
C. F. Adams, by Morse ; Z,z)Q?o/'j^r(z«/4/z>;,byhimself(Bigelow'sed.), by Sparks, by Parton; 
ZzV'^J of Jefferson, by Randall, Parton, Morse; Tudor's Life of James Otis; Life of Samuel 
Adams, by Wells, by Hosmer ; Life of Hamilton, by Morse ; Life of Madison, by Rives ; 
W. Jay's Life of John Jay (2 vols.) ; H. Von Hoist, Constiiutio7ial and Political His- 
tory of the U?iiied States [from 1759] ; Sparks's American Biography (2 series, 25 vols.). 
Winsor's Reader's Handbook of the A^nerican Revolution (1761-83), a very useful work, 
gives the literature on the subject (1880) ; Bancroft, History of the Formation of the Con- 
stitution of the United States. 



Period IV. 
THE ERA OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

(.1789-1815.) 



INTRODUCTION. 

Character of the Revolution. — The French Revolution was a 
tremendous upheaval of society, which brought with it the aboli- 
tion of feudalism and monarchy, and the securing of an equality 
of political rights. Its immediate result in France was the estab- 
lishment of a democratic republic, followed by an empire resting 
on military power. Its conquests, and the predominance of 
France, provoked an uprising of the other European peoples in 
behalf of national independence. This overthrew the French 
empire, and produced a temporary restoration of the old dynasty. 
But the effect of the Revolution, in which the other civilized nations 
largely shared, was the substitution, in the room of the medicsval 
state, of the modem state resting on a broader basis of equality 
as regards the rights and obligations of different classes. In the 
Western nations of the Continent, serfdom, and manifold abuses, 
civil and ecclesiastical, were abolished. 

Causes of the Revolution. — First among the causes of the 
Revolution in France, was the hostility felt towards the privileged 
classes, — the king, the nobles, and the clergy, — on account of 
the disabilities and burdens which law and custom imposed on the 
classes beneath them. When Charles VII. organized a standing 
army, and laid direct taxes to support it, the burghers and peasants 
rejoiced (p. 328). The monarchy was thus enabled to shield 
them, and subdue the great nobles. Louis XIV., as long as he 
was successful, was sustained by the pride and national spirit of 
the country. Yet his domination over the nobiUty and the Church 
left the higher orders in possession not only of the offices and 
honors which helped to fasten them submissively to the monarch, 
but also left them in the exercise of the numberless complicated 
privileges of local rule and taxation, — privileges which were the 
growth of ages, and which laid on the necks of the people a yoke 
too heavy to be borne. 

497 



498 MODERN HISTORY. 

1. The Land : The Peasants. — Nearly two-thirds of the land in 
France was in the hands of the nobles and of the clergy. A great 
part of it was ill cultivated by its indolent owners. The nobles 
preferred the gayeties of Paris to a residence on their estates. 
There were many small land-owners, but many had individually too 
little land to furnish them with subsistence. The treatment of the 
peasant was often such that when he " looked upon the towers of 
his lord's castle, the dearest wish of his heart was to burn it down, 
with all its registers of debt." There was not a large middle class 
of land-owners, possessed of farms which, although small, were 
yet adequate to yield them a living. The clergy, besides having 
the whole management of education, held an immense amount of 
land, seigniorial control over thousands of peasants, and a vast 
income from tithes and other sources. In some provinces, there 
was a better state of things than in others ; but, in general, the 
rich had the enjoyments, and the poor carried the burdens. 

2. Monopolies Manufactures and trade, although encouraged 

under Colbert, were fettered by oppressive monopolies and a strict 
organization of guilds. 

3. Corrupt Government. — The administration of government 
was both arbitrary and corrupt. Places in parliament and in the 
army, and most higher offices, were sold, but sold, as a rule, only 
to nobles. When parliament refused to register decrees of taxa- 
tion, the king held *' beds of justice," — a method of passing laws 
against parliamentary protest (p. 299). Warrants of arrest and 
imprisonment — lett7'es de cachet — were issued by his sole au- 
thority. 

4. Loss of Respect for Royalty. — Respect for the throne was 
lost. Under Louis XIV., the number of salable offices was in- 
credibly multiplied. In his last days, " in many towns the trade 
in timber, wine, and spirits was taken out of private hands ; nay, 
even the poor earnings of those who towed boats on the rivers, of 
porters and funeral mutes, were made a monopoly, and secured to 
certain families exclusively, in consideration of a large premium." 
" Famine prevailed in every province. The bark of trees was the 
daily food of hundreds of thousands." The debauchery of Louis 
XV., and his feeble foreign policy, tended to dissipate what rever- 
ence for royalty was left. 

5. Abortive Essays at Reform. — The efforts at political and 
social reform in France and in other countries, emanating from 
sovereigns after the great wars, produced a restless feeling without 
effecting their purpose of social reorganization. 

6. Political Speculation. — The current of thought was in a 
revolutionary direction. Traditional beliefs in religion were boldly 
questioned. Political speculation was rife. Montesqtiieii had 
drawn attention to the liberty secured by the English constitution. 



MARIE ANTOINETTE. 499 

Voltaire had dwelt on human rights, — the nights of the individual. 
Rousseau had expatiated on the sovereign right of the majority. 

7. Example of America. — Add to these agencies, the influence 
of the American Revolution, and of the American Declaration 
of Independence, with its proclamation of human rights, and of 
the foundation of government in contract and the consent of the 
people. 

8. The Immediate Cause. — The immediate cause of the Revo- 
lution was the immense public debt, and the virtual bankruptcy of 
the government. 



CHAPTER I. 

FROM THE ASSEMBLING OF THE STATES GENERAL TO 
THE EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI. (1789-1793). 

Louis XVI. (1774-92): the Queen. — Louis XVI. differed from 
his two predecessors in iDcing morally pure, and benevolent in his 
feelings ; but he was of a dull mind, void of energy, and with an 
obstinacy of character that did not supply the place of an en- 
lightened firmness. He had married (1770) Marie A?itoinette, 
the daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa. The vivacious 
young queen, as well as the youthful king, at first charmed the 
people. But her disregard of court etiquette, and her gay, im- 
pulsive ways, provoked the dislike of many high in station, and 
exposed her to the natural but unmerited suspicion, on the part of 
the people, that she had faults worse than mere indiscretion. A 
great scandal connected with a diamond necklace, which an un- 
principled woman, the Countess Lamotte, falsely asserted that the 
queen desired the Cardinal de Rohan to purchase for her, did 
much to make her the victim of gross defamation (1785). Her 
forbearance towards unworthy favorites, and her intermeddling in 
the affairs of government, in opposition to political reforms, gradu- 
ally kindled against her wide-spread disrespect and aversion. 

To the States General. — Helpless under the pressure of the 
heavy debt and the deficit in revenue, the king called to his side 
Turgot (1774) as controller-general of finance, a political econo- 
mist and statesman of remarkable integrity and msight. He set 
to work to reduce the enormous and extravagant pubhc expen- 
ditures, and to introduce reforms for the purpose of increasing 
the public income. He proposed to do away with internal duties 
on articles of commerce ; to break up many guilds ; to abolish 
the corvee, or the hard and hateful requirement upon the peasant 
to labor so many days on the land of the lord ; and to introduce 
a greater amount of local self-government. These, and other 



500 MODERN HISTORY. ' ■ 

wholesome reforms in the civil service and in the army, excited 
the violent opposition of the nobles and the clergy, and of the 
whole body of interested courtiers. The king weakly yielded : 
the great minister was dismissed ; and France lost its golden 
opportunity to prevent infinitely greater calamities than any which 
the selfish opponents of change dreaded for themselves. Necker, 
a Genevan banker of far less financial ability, was now placed at 
the helm (i 776-1 781). His remedies were not radical ; yet his 
movements in the direction of economy, and for giving publicity 
to the financial situation of the government, provoked such hatred 
in the classes affected that he had to withdraw. Calomie, a 
prodigal and incapable successor, in connection with the increased 
expenses of the government consequent on the American War, 
brought things to such a pass that the king called together (1787) 
an Assembly of Notables, not so much to get their advice as to 
obtain their support for a plan of reform not unlike that of Turgot. 
This necessary reform they selfishly refused to sanction. Calonne 
fled to London. Necke?-, to the joy of the people, who built on 
him vain hopes, was recalled (1788) ; and it was resolved to sum- 
mon the States General, who had not met since 1614. To this 
measure the incompetence and selfishness of the ruling classes 
had inevitably led. 

The Triumph of the Thiid Estate. — The States General met 
at Versailles, May 5, 1789. The clergy numbered three hundred, 
the nobles three hundred, and the third estate {tiers eta t) — whose 
plain black dress was in contrast with the more showy costume of 
the higher orders — numbered six hundred. A pamphlet of Abb6 
Sieyes, in answer to the question, "What is the Third Estate?" 
declared that is the nation in its true sovereignty and supreme 
authority. A contest arose at once on the question, whether there 
should be three houses, or whether all the members should sit 
together. The Third Estate insisted on the latter plan. The 
Parisian astronomer, Bailly, was their president. Among the 
members were Sieyes, and Mirabeaii, a man of great intellect and 
of commanding eloquence. They declared themselves to be the 
National Assembly ; and they persisted, against the king's will, in 
sitting apart until, at his request, the other orders gave away and 
joined them. It was resolved not to adjourn until the nation 
should be put in possession of a constitution \ meantime, however, 
that, so long as the body should not be dissolved, m.oney should 
be raised by increase of taxation, and the interest be paid on the 
public debt. The attempts of Louis to dissolve the assembly 
were firmly resisted by the third estate, which was joined by 
Talleyrand, Bishop of Autun, Gregoire, afterwards Bishop of Blois, 
and, of the nobility, by the rich, ambitious, and unprincipled 
Duke of Orleans. The king again yielded, and advised the 
nobles and clergy to remain. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 50I 

Destruction of the Bastille: Emigration of Nobles. — The 

aristocratic party, on account of this victory of the third estate, 
and because they could not trust the guard of the king, procured 
the substitution for it of German and Swiss troops. The excite- 
ment caused by this proceeding, and the news of Necker's dis- 
missal, led to a mob of the rough Parisian populace, who seized 
weapons from the workshops, and forced the surrender of the 
Bastille, the grim old prison where political offenders had been 
immured, — the visible monument of ages of royal tyranny, — 
which they razed to the ground. The heads of Delaunay the gov- 
ernor, and several of the garrison, were carried on pikes through 
the streets by the frenzied crowd. The mob wore cockades on 
their hats ; these became the badges of the Revolution. This 
first outbreaking of mob violence had at once important effects. 
Necker was recalled. Lafayette was made commander of the mi- 
litia of Paris, organized as a National Guard. The tricolor — red, 
white, and blue — was adopted for the flag. Bailly became mayor 
of Paris. The king came to Paris, and showed himself, with the 
national colors on his breast, to the people, at the Hotel de Ville, 
thereby giving a tacit sanction to what had been done. Then began 
the emigration of the nobles to foreign countries : the king's brother, 
the Prince of Conde, and others high in rank, left the country. The 
vices which the nobles had learned to practice at home were now 
to be exhibited abroad. The passions of the revolutionary party 
were to be inflamed by the suspicion of a complicity of the king 
and court with the plots of their absent supporters, who strove to 
enlist other nations in the work of trampling down liberty in 
France. The emigrants had some reason to fear. Municipal 
guards wei-e formed in various towns by the party of progress. 
Soon there were risings of peasantry in several districts. Indi- 
viduals in Paris — among them one of the ministers who suc- 
ceeded Necker — were massacred. Nevertheless, the emigration 
was a grand error. The danger at the moment was not great ; 
and, whatever the peril, the evils of desertion were far more to be 
deprecated. 

The New Constitution ; Assignats. — The National Assembly, 
at the instigation of Lafayette, passed a Declaration of Rights, after 
the pattern of the American Declaration of Independence. On 
motion of his brother-in-law, the Vicomte de Noailles, the repre- 
sentatives of the nobles, in an outburst of enthusiastic self-renuncia- 
tion, gave up their feudal rights and privileges. They liberated 
the peasants from their burdensome obhgations : the clergy relin- 
quished their tithes ; the sale of offices and titles was abolished ; 
equality of taxes was ordained ; all citizens were made eligible to 
all stations, civil and military. The new constitution provided 
for one legislative chamber, to which should belong the right to 



502 MODERN HISTORY. 

initiate all enactments. The king's veto onl)^ suspended the 
adoption of a measure for two legislative terms. The assent of 
the chamber was necessary for the validity of all foreign treaties, 
and for declaring war or concluding peace. The State assumed 
the support of the clergy. It was a constihitional monarchy that 
was framed, — such a system as La Fayette and moderate republi- 
cans desired. The essence of republicanism was secured under old 
forms. Assigiiats, or notes, were issued as a currency, for which 
the public lands were to be the security, — a safeguard that was 
ineffective. 

The Mob at Vergailles. — The delay of the king to proclaim 
the constitution, the call of a regiment of troops to Versailles, 
imprudent speeches and songs at a court banquet, stirred up the 
Parisian mob, who ascribed the scarcity of food to the absence 
of the king from Paris. A countless throng, made up largely of 
coarse women, went out to Versailles, intruded into the legislative 
chamber, and at night (Oct. 5) made their way into the palace, 
over the bodies of the guards. The royal family were rescued 
by La Fayette and the National Guard. The next day they were 
forced to go to Paris, attended by this wild and hungry retinue, 
and took up their abode in the Tiiileries. To Paris, also, the 
National Assembly transferred itself. More and more, Paris 
gained control. 

Progress of the Revolution. — The independence of the clergy, 
and the judicial authority of the parliaments, were now extin- 
guished by the Assembly. The property of the Church was con- 
fiscated, as the salaries of the clergy were to be paid by the State ; 
the cloisters and monastic orders were abolished ; the clergy were 
to be chosen by the people ; there was to be absolute religious 
freedom ; there was a new organization of bishoprics ; the press 
was to be free ; France was divided, for purposes of government, 
into eighty-three departments ; civil officers were to be chosen, 
directly or indirectly, by popular vote ; hereditary nobility, with 
titles and coats-of-arms, was swept away. The equality of all 
citizens was ordained. There was to be uniformity in measures, 
weights, and coinage. A uniform judicial system was instituted, 
with jury trials in criminal cases. 

The Clergy. — Thenceforward the clergy were divided into two 
classes, — those who took the required oath to the constitution 
(about one third of the whole number), and the "refractory" 
ones, who, in accordance with the Pope's will, refused it. 

The Clubs: Paris. — While these constitutional changes were 
taking place, the mass of the populace were becoming more and 
more excited by vehement orators, who discoursed of human 
rights, and by inflammatory journals. Clubs were organized for 
democratic agitation, which were named, from the places where 



FLIGHT OF THE KING. 503 

they mei, Jacobins and Cordeliers. The latter had for their head 
Danton, with his stentorian voice, and the briUiant young jour- 
nalist Camille Desmoi/lins. The Jacobins aimed later at the de- 
struction of the old institutions. The moderate monarchists, such 
as Bailly and La Fayette, then formed another club (the Feuil- 
lants). The municipality or commune of Paris was divided into 
forty-eight sections, each with an assembly which served as a 
theater for demagogical harangues. 

Fete of the Federation. — For a time the skies appeared 
bright. On the 14th of July, 1790, a great Federative Commemo- 
ration, or festival of civic fraternity, was held on the Chatnp de 
Mars in Paris. Talleyrand at the head of three hundred priests 
clad in white, with tri-color sashes, officiated at an altar in the 
midst of the arena. First, La Fayette as president of the National 
Guard, then the president of the Assembly, and last the king, 
took an oath before the half-million of spectators to uphold the 
constitution. Then the queen, partaking in the common enthu- 
siasm, held up the dauphin in her arms, and pledged his future 
obedience to the oath. There was unbounded joy at what was 
supposed to be a new millennial era of political freedom and 
brotherhood. The grand festival awakened sympathy and hope 
in all the countries of Europe. 

Flight of the King. — The hope of unity and political bliss, 
which exalted all minds to a high pitch of emotion, proved, before 
long, to be an illusive dream. The king was not ready to confirm 
the ordinance respecting priests, which made them civil officers ; 
nor was he ready to declare the plotting emigrant nobles at Co- 
blenz and Worms traitors. Mirabeau, who had enlisted in behalf 
of the king in a resistance to further measures for the reduction 
of regal authority, and in behalf of a constitutional monarchy, in 
which the legislative, judicial, and executive functions should be 
kept apart, suddenly died (April 2, 1791), at the age of forty- 
two. His death, caused partly by overwork of brain, and partly 
by dissolute habits, deprived the conservative republicans and the 
court of their ablest defender. No one like him was left to stem 
the current of revolutionary passion, which threatened to burst 
through all barriers. The Paris sections became more and more 
violent. They hindered a proposed journey of Louis to St. Cloud. 
This determined him, against the urgent wishes of the queen, to 
escape, with his family, to the army of the Marquis de Bouille, 
at Montmedy. But the fugitives were stopped in their flight, at 
Varennes, and brought back in custody to Paris. This unwise 
and abortive proceeding of the king, coupled with his formal 
annulling of all that he had done in the two years previous, had 
for its natural consequence his suspension from office. An insur- 
rection of the mob, to put an end to the monarchy, was sup- 



504 MODERN HISTORY. 

pressed by La Fayette. At the end of September, Louis swore to 
the revised constitution, and was restored to the throne. The 
Assembly then dissolved, to give place to another, which should 
complete the new pohtical creation by needful legislation : hence 
it was called 

The Legislative Assembly (Oct. 1791-Sept, 1792). — It was 
composed of seven hundred and forty-five members, mostly young 
men, among them a number of eloquent orators. One-half of the 
body were advocates. The National Assembly, by a kind of self- 
denying ordinance, had voted to exclude themselves from mem- 
bership in the new body, which thus lacked the benefit of their 
knowledge and experience. In the Assembly, on the right, were 
the different classes of supporters of constitutional monarchy, the 
royalists, and the Feuillants (of the school of La Fayette'). On 
the left, were the majority, which steadily increased in numbers, 
and embraced (i) the Girondists, or moderate republicans ; (2) the 
Mountain, — so called from their higher seats in the hall, — com- 
prising the most decided democrats or radicals. Here were the 
leaders of the y<2(:^<^/;2i" and Cordeliers. A few of the Girondists 
were for going beyond the constitution of 1791, in the direction 
of a republic after the model of the United States. They were 
enamored of the spirit of the ancient commonwealths. They 
were fond of recurring to the Roman orators and historians. 
Rola7id, Brissot, and Vergniaud were among their leaders. 

The Parisian Populace. — The populace of Paris made Petion, 
a democrat, their mayor. In the Jacobin club were Robespierre ; 
Marat, who denounced fiercely in his journal, "The Friend of 
the People," as aristocrats, all classes above the common level, 
whether by birth or property, and the former play-actor, D'Her- 
bois. Danton, and Caniille Desmoulins, who belonged to the 
Cordeliers, took part in its sessions. From this company, the 
Girondists separated after the fall of the king. The red Jacobin 
cap came into vogue as a badge of republicanism, and the Mar- 
seillaise as its favorite inspiring song. Declaimers and journals 
were in full blast, stirring up the fears and wrath of the people. 

The Assembly and the King. — The Assembly passed penal 
acts against the recusant priests, — those who refused the oath ; 
and against the emigrants, who were trying to stir up the powers 
of Europe against the French government in its new form. These 
enactments were met by the king with a veto. 

War with Austria and Prussia. — The authors of the French 
Revolution have been so generally objects of execration, and so 
terrible crimes were actually perpetrated in the course of it, that 
it is only just to note the circumstances which explain the origin 
of these atrocities, and which enabled violent leaders and wild 
passions to usurp control. The efforts of the constitutionalists to 



CONDITION OF GERMANY. 505 

save the throne were balked by the exiles and the foreign govern- 
ments. Frederick William 11. of Prussia (i 786-1 797), and Leo- 
pold II. the emperor (i 790-1 792), in the Declaration of Piluitz 
(Aug. 27, 1 791), called on the other European powers to join 
them in aiding Louis XVI. to establish a right sort of government. 
From Russia, Sweden, Spain, and even Switzerland, there were 
not wanting manifestations of hostility. The attitude of Austria 
had the effect to bring into power a Girondist ministry. They 
wanted v/ar as the best means of attaining the objects which they 
had in view at home. On April 20, 1792, Z<9?//i- was compelled 
to go to the Assembly, and propose a declaration of war against 
Austria. " The courts of Europe had heaped up the fuel : the 
Girondists applied the torch." They were not averse to a cru- 
sade in behalf of liberty. 

The Condition of Germany. — Germany consisted of a multi- 
tude of states, of which Austria (which had large territories not 
German) and Prussia were the chief, and were in constant rivalry. 
The Holy Roman Empire kept up its name and forms. Besides 
smaller sovereignties, as Saxony and Bavaria, there were two hun- 
dred and fifty petty principalities, fifty imperial cities, and several 
hundred knights, each with an insignificant domain subject to him. 
The empire was one body only in theory. National feeling had 
died out. The Diet had little to do, and no etficiency. Austria, 
which held the imperial office, and included in its extensive 
dominions Milan and Southern Netherlands, had sunk into a 
" gloomy and soulless despotism." The reforms of Joseph II. pro- 
duced a ferment ; but after the death of Leopold II. (1790-1792), 
under Francis 11, a sickly and selfish ruler, a reactionary policy, 
inspired by the dread of change, had full sway. Thugut, the min- 
ister of Francis, cared only for the acquisition of territory : the 
people were so many millions " to be taxed, to be drilled, to be 
kept down by the police." In Prussia, Frederick William II. 
(i 786-1 797) and his people had no feehng so strong as that of 
hostility to Austria, whose influence was predominant in the minor 
states. Prussia cared more for getting additional Polish territory 
than for helping the French emigrants. The Prussian people were 
separated by rigorous lines into three classes, — nobles, burghers, 
and peasants. The nobles were poor. The lawful occupations of 
each class were prescribed by law. " The mass of the peasantry, 
at least in the country east of the Elbe, were serfs attached to the 
soil." The offices in the army were confined to nobles, on whose 
absolute obedience the king could count. Blows were inflicted on 
the common soldier as if he were a slave. In some of the other 
Protestant states, the character of the government had improved. 
In the south and west, the serfs had lieen set free. In the eccle- 
siastical states, including the electorates of Mentz, Treves, and 



506 MODERN HISTORY. 

Cologne, the prince-bishops and canons were nobles, who led a 
gay and luxurious life. Nowhere were poverty and wretchedness 
so general as in the lands of the knights. The political life of 
Germany, notwithstanding its abundant resources, mainly from the 
decay of public spirit and the want of political unity, had become 
stagnant and corrupt. Germany was almost incapable of vigorous, 
united action. 

Conflict of Louis and the Assembly. — There was no real union 
between Louis XVI. and the Assembly. Troops of the National 
Guard, to the number of twenty thousand, from the provinces were 
to, encamp near Paris. This measure, as well as a decree for the 
banishment of the non-juring clergy, the king refused to sanction. 
The Girondist ministers laid down their office. A mob burst into 
the Tuileries : they put on the king's head a Jacobin cap, but he 
remained calm and steadfast in his refusal to assent to the decrees. 
La Fayette came to Paris from the Northern army, to restore 
order ; but the queen treated him with habitual distrust, and he 
fell under suspicion with the radicals. He went back to the army 
without effecting any thing. 

Imprisonment of the King. — Prussia had joined its rival, Aus- 
tria. Ferdinand of Bi'unswick, an officer trained under Frederick 
the Great, commanded the Prussian forces. He issued (July 25) 
a threatening proclamation to the French people. There were 
three French armies in the field, under Rochanibeau, La Fayette, 
and Liickner ; but the fire of the Revolution had not yet entered 
into the veins of the soldiers. Military reverses heightened the 
revolutionary excitement in Paris. The municipal government was 
broken up by Danton and his associates, with the mob of poor 
and desperate partisans at their back ; and its place was taken by 
commissioners from the sections. An armed throng again attacked 
the Tuileries. The king took refuge in the hall of the Assembly. 
The Swiss guards fought bravely against the assailants, when they 
received an order from him to cease firing. The result was that 
they were slaughtered without mercy. The uniform composure of 
the king in the most trying situations, and his conscientious feel- 
ings, were a poor substitute for intellectual force. The Assembly 
voted to suspend the exercise of his authority, to put him and his 
family under surveillance, to hand over the young prince to the 
custody of a person charged with his education, and to call a 
national convention to draw up a constitution. The royal family 
were given into the hands of the Paris commune, and lodged as 
prisoners, in apartments scantily furnished, in the castle called the 
Temple. 

Massacres of September. — The blundering of the royalists, 
their intrigues, and the pressure of the coalition of foreign enemies, 
had thrown the power into the hands of the Jacobins. The city 



EXECUTION OF THE KING 507 

council, and Danton, the minister of justice, were really supreme, 
although the Girondists had a share in the new ministry. La 
Fayette was accused and proscribed, and fled from the country. 
He was captured by the Austrians, and kept in prison at Qlmutz 
until 1797. The news of the advance of the allies led to the 
" massacres of September," when the prisons in Paris, which had 
been filled with priests and laymen arrested on charges of com- 
plicity with the enemies of liberty, were entered by ruffians acting 
under influence of Marat and the commune's " committee of sur- 
veillance," and, after "a burlesque trial" before an armed jury, 
were murdered. In Versailles, Lyojis, Orleans, and other towns, 
there were like massacres. The victims of these massacres num- 
bered about two thousand. 

Trial and Execution of the King. — The National Convention 
was made up entirely of republicans. The monarchy was abol- 
ished, and France was declared a republic. The Girondists had 
at first the preponderance in numbers ; but the Jacobins, led by 
Robespierre, Datiton, Marat, Couthon, Fouche, the Duke of 
Orleans (who called himself Philip Fgalite), St. Just, Billaud- 
Varenne, Barere, were supported by the clubs and the city council, 
and by the savage populace of the sections, — the sans culottes. 
The guillotine — a machine for beheading, which Guillotin, a 
physician, did not invent, but recommended for use — was the 
instrument on which the fanatical revolutionists placed most of 
their reliance for the extirpation of "aristocracy." The energy 
of the Jacobins, aided by the general dread of a restoration of the 
royalists to power, and by the fury of the Paris populace, proved 
too strong for the more moderate party to withstand. The king, 
designated as Louis Capet, was arraigned before the assembly, 
tried, and condemned to death. There were seven hundred and 
twenty-one votes : his death was decreed by a small majority 
(Jan. 17, 1793). Through all the terrible scenes of the trial, the 
parting with his wife and children, and the execution (Jan. 21), 
Louis manifested a serene and Christian temper. 

Victories of France. — Meantime, in France the war was felt, 
and justly, to be a war of self-defense. The enemies were a priv- 
ileged class in alliance with foreign invaders. Volunteers flocked 
to the field. The troops under Dumouriez and others had been 
successful. At Valmy (Sept. 20, 1792) the allies, under Bruns- 
wick, were defeated. The victory of Dumouriez at Jenimappes was 
followed by the conquest of the Austrian Netherlands (Nov., 1 792). 
Savoy and Nice were annexed to France. The Scheldt was de- 
clared free and open to commerce, and Antwerp was made an 
open port. 



508 MODERN HISTORY. 



CHAPTER II. 

FROM THE EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI. TO THE FALL 
OF ROBESPIEEBE (JAN. 21, 1793-JULY 27, 1794). 

The First Coalition. — The execution of the king was the signal 
for the union of the European powers against France. The inten- 
tion of the revolutionary party to propagate their system in other 
countries afforded one excuse for this interference. The Con- 
vention (Nov. 19, 1792) had offered their assistance to peoples 
wishing to throw off the existing governments. Another reason 
was the recent annexations, and the proceedings in respect to the 
free navigation of the Scheldt. The main ground and cement of 
the coalition was the dread which the governments felt of revolu- 
tionary movements among their own subjects, from their sympathy 
with the new institutions in France. 

Politics in England. — The reason just mentioned was operative 
in Great Britain. The revolution of 168S had given power to a 
group of Whig families and their retainers. To shake off this 
Whig control, which had long continued, was a constant aim of 
George III. In William Pitt, the younger, he found a minister 
capable, under the favoring circumstances, of achieving this result. 
He was made prime minister in 1783, when he was only twenty- 
five years old. The king, in 1788, had been attacked with in- 
sanity ; and while he was thus afflicted, George, Prince of Wales, 
who was unpopular on account of his loose morals, ruled as regent. 
The regent affihated with the Whigs, but Pitt retained his office. 
The leader of the liberal party was Charles James Fox, a man of 
noble talents and generous instincts, but notoriously irregular in 
his habits. The sympathy in England with the Revolution of 1 789 
was widely diffused. Edmund Burke, however, the great philo- 
sophical statesman, who had defended the cause of freedom in the 
American War, was alarmed by the events in France, and still 
more by the theories of human rights propounded by the enthusi- 
astic friends of the Revolution. These ideas were set forth in Eng- 
land, in an offensive form, in the writings of Thomas Paine. Burke 
published, in 1790, his Reflections on the French Revolution, in 
which he attacked as visionary the political notions of the French 
school in regard to human rights, and denounced them for their 
dangerous tendency. He separated from his party, and publicly 
broke friendship with Fox. Pitt was personally averse to war with 
France, but was driven into it by the prevailing sentiment. The 
anti-revolutionary feeling excited by the news of the death of Louis 
moved England to an armed interference which involved the most 
important consequences to all Europe. A Tory minister, Pitt was 
supported in the long struggle in Europe by a majority of the Whigs. 



THE JACOBIN REVOLUTION. 509 

In the next twenty years, Great Britain, by her mihtary strength 
on the land, and much more on the sea, and in particular by her 
wealth, freely poured out in subsidies to her allies on the Conti- 
nent, was a powerful, as well as the most persevering, antagonist 
of France. 

Fall of the Girondists. — The advance of the allied armies in- 
creased the violence and strengthened the hands of the Jacobins. 
Dumouriez lost a battle in Neerwinden (March 18, 1793), and 
fell back, through Belgium, to the French frontier. He was in 
sympathy with the Girondists, and complained of the doings of 
^t Jacobins in Paris and in his army. Being called to account, 
he went over to the Austrians. This desertion weakened the 
Girondist party, and put new force into the party of Jacobins. 
At the same time, news came of a royalist revolt in the West, and 
of conflicts between the Jacobins and their adversaries in the cities 
of the South. Danton, who understood that " audacity " was the 
secret of success, procured the appointment by the convention 
of a Com?nitiee of Public Safety (April 6, 1793), which was to 
exercise the most frightful dictatorship known in history. A "com- 
mittee of general security " was put in charge of the police of the 
whole <;ountry. The commune of Paris co-operated in the ener- 
getic efforts of the Jacobin leaders to collect recruits and to 
strengthen the military force. The three chiefs were Danton, 
Marat, and Robespierre. There was a mortal struggle between 
the advocates of order and the apostles of anarchy. The fate of 
the moderates and Girondists was sealed by a great insurrection 
in Paris, and an invasion of the Convention by an armed force. 
The violent party had at their back eighty thousand National 
Guards, who hemmed in the Convention. Twenty-nine Girondist 
leaders were placed under arrest. Their party fell. The boldest 
and most reckless faction, which had the Paris commune behind 
it, triumphed. 

War of La Vendee. — Outside of Paris, in other parts of France, 
there were risings against the Jacobin rule. The most formidable 
of these was in the West, where the relation of the noljles to the 
peasants had been kindly, and where the common people looked 
on the violent proceedings at Paris with anger and disgust. Thus 
began the war of La Vendee, a terrible episode of civil strife, in 
which the people of that region were subdued, but not until after 
protracted conflict and immense slaughter. 

The Jacobin Revolution. — Danton and the other revolutionary 
leaders showed a tremendous energy in their attack on both do- 
mestic and foreign enemies. A levy was ordered of the whole male 
population capable of bearing arms. A maximum price was fixed 
by law for commodities, and also for wages. The government paid 
its dues in depreciated assignats at the face value. Its emissaries 



5IO MODERN HISTORY. 

were in all parts of France, stirring up the people and forming 
revolutionary committees. Thus a system of revolutionary govern- 
ment was everywhere established. A new constitution, of an ex- 
treme democratic type, was offered to the acceptance of the people. 
This dominion of the Jacobins, it must be observed, was a second 
revolution. The Revolution of 1792 was as different from that of 
1789 as was the proposed constitution of 1793 from that of 1791. 
The insurrections, except at Lyons and Toulon and in La Vendee, 
were soon quelled. The Jacol3in rule was identified with the cause 
of patriotism in arms against foreign invasion, and with antipathy 
to the restoration of Bourbon royalty and misrule. In Paris, the 
revolutionary tribunal was filling the prisons with the suspected, 
and sending daily its wagon-loads of victims to the guillotine. 

Military Successes of France. — The achievements of the great 
coalition were not at all in proportion to its apparent strength. It 
was weakened by mutual jealousies and inefficient commanders. 
In the South, the Spaniards and Piedmontese did not profit by their 
successes. In the North and North-east, the summer of 1793 was 
partly wasted by the English, Austrians, and Prussians, in long sieges 
and in dissensions among themselves. Meantime the French army 
was growing stronger, and more and more on fire with patriotic 
ardor. The Duke of York, an incapable general, was obliged to 
raise the siege of Djinkirk (Sept. 8, 1793). The forces of the 
coalition began to retire from ground that they had won. At Paris, 
Camofs efficient management of military affairs gave France an 
advantage over her foes. The Prussians were inactive on the 
Rhine ; and Jourdan, reinforced by a French detachment from 
that quarter, defeated the Austrians at Wattignies. By the move- 
ments of Hoche, the allies were driven out of Alsace. Lyons, after 
a stubborn defense, was captured and savagely punished, and the 
brave Vendeans were completely defeated by Kleber at Savenay. 
Near the end of the year, Toulon, then in revolt, was captured. 
At the siege, a young artillery officer, Napoleon Bonaparte, first 
distinguished himself by pointing out the proper spot for the plant- 
ing of batteries that would drive away the English and Spanish 
fleets, and by carrying out his project. 

Bonaparte. — Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, Aug. 
15, 1769, two months after Corsica became subject to the French. 
His family, on both sides, were Italians. Napoleon himself never 
became so fully master of the French tongue that he did not betray 
in his speech his foreign extraction. He was educated at the mili- 
tary school oi Bfienne (i 779-1 784), and then went to the military 
school at Paris. His principal studies were mathematics and 
history. He quickly made manifest his military talents, and 
seems first to have aspired to gain distinction and power, in this 
line, in Corsica. His connection was at first with the Jacobins, 



THE REIGN OF TERROR. 5II 

although he afterwards denied it. He had imbibed the ideas of 
the Revolution, and saw that in the service of the leaders in the 
war there was opened to him a military career. He turned against 
his patriotic countryman, Paoli, when the latter sought to separate 
Corsica from France, at that time under the Jacobin rule. 

The Reign of Terror. — The Reign of Terror had now estab- 
lished itself in France. The Committee of Public Safety wielded 
absolute power. Every man, woman, and child was called upon 
to take part in the defense of the country. The property of all 
the " emigrants " and prisoners of state was seized. Whoever was 
suspected of being hostile to the established tyranny was thrown 
into prison. Even to be lukewarm in adhesion to it, was a serious 
offense. Summary trials were followed by swift executions. The 
tenderness of youth and the venerableness of age were no protec- 
tion. Day after day, the stream of human blood continued to flow. 
A new calendar was ordained : Sept. 22, 1792, was the beginning 
of the year one. There was a new division of months ; in the 
room of the week, each tenth day was made a holiday. The 
commune of Paris, followed by other cities, began a crusade 
against Christianity. Fashions of dress, modes of speech, and 
manners were revolutionized. Every vestige of "aristocracy" 
was to be swept off the earth. There was a wild license given to 
divorce and to profligacy. Paris was like a camp where young 
soldiers were drilled, weapons were forged, and lint and bandages 
made ready for the wounded. There were seen, even in the hall of 
the Convention, throngs of coarse and fierce men, and of coarser 
and fiercer women, with their songs and wild outcries and gestures. 
The commune of Paris instituted a sacrilegious festival in the 
ancient cathedral of Notre Dame, where an actress was enthroned 
as " Goddess of Liberty." There were priests and bishops who 
abjured the Christian faith, and there were others who adhered to 
it at the peril of their hves. The prisons, which were packed with 
all classes, were theaters of strange and thrilling scenes. In 
many cases, death, made familiar, ceased to terrify. Crowds 
escorted the batch of victims carried on carts each day to the 
place of execution, and insulted them with their brutal shouts. 
The arrested Girondist deputies were executed. Some of the 
leaders of that party, including Roland, perished by suicide. 
Among the eminent persons sent to the guillotine were the elo- 
quent Vergniaud, Brissot, Bailly, Malesherbes (the brave advocate 
who had defended Louis XVI.), and Madame Poland ; also the 
infamous Duke of Orleans, who had intrigued to get himself raised 
to the throne. Marie Antoinette, her hair turned white in the 
tragic scenes through which she had passed, miserably clad, was 
dragged before the merciless tribunal. There she was insulted 
with foul accusations which nobody beheved. After the mockery 



512 MODERN HISTORY. 

of a trial, she was carried like a common criminal, in a cart, with 
her arms bound, to the place of execution (Oct. i6). Her dignity 
and serenity, her paUid countenance, and the simple, pathetic 
words uttered by her at her arraignment, touched for the moment 
the hardened hearts of the imbruted spectators. Her sad fate 
has blinded many to the calamitous errors committed by her in 
the days of her power. 

The Jacobin Chiefs. — The Reign of Terror was not confined 
to Paris. The unexampled atrocities there were repeated in the 
other large towns with like circumstances of barbarity. A species 
of fanaticism ruled and raged in the land. The mania, if one may 
so call it, reached its height in such chiefs of the revolutionary 
party as Marat, Billaud, and Robespierre. In Marat especially, 
the mastery gained by one idea almost amounted to mental dis- 
order. He demanded first five hundred heads, then (in Sept., 
1793) forty thousand; then, six weeks later, two hundred and 
seventy thousand. It did seem to be a "homicidal mania." 
J/ara/was assassinated by a young maiden, Charlotte Corday, who 
devoted herself to the task of ridding the world of such a monster. 

Death of Danton. — The Jacobin leaders found their ideal of 
virtue in the Spartan spirit. Infatuated by Rousseau'' s theory of 
the omnipotence of the state, in which the individual is merged 
and lost under the despotism of the majority, they looked on the 
massacre of countless persons, guilty of no crime, as a good deed. 
At length men began to grow weary of this frightful tyranny. The 
leaders became divided among themselves. Danton, though often 
the advocate of violent measures, was a statesman, and, to his 
credit be it said, halted at a point where the others advanced. He 
made an objection to the confounding of the innocent with the 
guilty. Hebert and the leaders of the commune, with their athe- 
ism, as dangerous political rivals, were offensive to Robespierre, 
who was a deist. He held a sort of middle position, had most 
power with the Jacobins, and was enabled to crush and destroy 
his associates. He was a dull man, of a quiet mien, often seen 
with a nosegay in his hand, and bloodthirsty according to a pre- 
cise theory. His ascendency gave him the power, after scenes of 
tempestuous debate, to inflict first on Hebert, on Clootz, and his 
other confederates, and then on Danton and the Dantonist chiefs, 
the same death by the guillotine to which they had doomed so 
many. Robespierf^ abolished the worship of Reason, and caused 
the Convention to pass a resolution acknowledging the existence of 
a supreme Being, in whose honor fetes were held. Christianity was 
denounced as a base superstition. 

Cruelties in the Provinces. — When Robespierre was supreme, 
the Reign of Terror became still more terrible. In trials, the 
hearing of evidence and of argument were dispensed with. The 



FRENCH VICTORIES. 513 

prisons were crowded with " suspects." Alleged conspiracies in 
prisons were made a pretext for wholesale slaughter under the 
guillotine. Suicide and madness were of common occurrence. 
Even before Robespierre'' s predominance there had been in the 
provinces scenes of horror like those which occurred in the capi- 
tal. The revolted cities, as Lyons and Toulon, were punished with 
savage ferocity. At Lyons, men, women, and children in masses 
were shot down with artillery. Those who were not killed with 
the shot were cut in pieces by the soldiery. At Nantes prisoners 
were bound together in pairs, and huddled together in barges, 
which were scuttled and set afloat down the Loire. For these 
atrocities the deputy Carrier was responsible. 

French Victories. — Yet, at this time, the arms of the republic, 
except on the sea, where the French fleet was badly beaten by the 
English, were mostly successful. The Duke of York was van- 
quished on the Belgian frontier, and the defeat of the allies at 
Fleurus (June 26, 1794) obliged them to evacuate Belgium. 



514 



MODERN HISTORY. 



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FALL OF ROBESPIERRE. $15 



CHAPTER IIL 

FROM THE FALL OF KOBESPIERRE TO THE EMPIRE OF 
NAPOLEON (1794-1804). 

Fall of Robespierre (9th Thermidor). — A reaction set in 
against the cruelties of Jacobinism. Men — even the judges of 
the murderous tribunal — grew weary of bloodshed. The authority 
of Robespierre began to wane, even with his colleagues. The 
assembly at length turned against him. On July 27 (the gth 
Thermidor, according to the new calendar) he was arrested. He 
was released, but was again seized, and, with St. Just, Couthon, 
and most of the leaders of the commune, was guillotined. 

Bare statistics, accompanied by no thrilling descriptions, convey a strong 
impression of the atrocities of the Reign of Terror. According to M. Taine, 
" there were guillotined at Paris, between April 16, 1793, ^"^ ^^^ 9"^^ Thermi- 
dor, 2,625 persons. The same process went forward all over France. In Arras, 
299 men and 93 women ; in 07-ange, 331 persons ; in Mantes, 1,971 ; in Lyons, 
1,684 (avowedly, but a correspondent of Robespierre estimates the total at 
6,000); in the fusillades (deaths by shooting) of Toulon, more than 1,000; in 
the noyades (drownings) of Nantes, nearly 5,000 perished. In the eight de- 
partments of the West, it is reckoned that nearly half a million perished." 
The <leaths from want, under the Jacobin government, M. Taine thinks, 
much exceeded a million. " France was on the brink of a great famine on 
the Asiatic scale." 

Reaction : Control of the Moderates. — The Reign of Terror 
was brought to an end. The moderates controlled the Convention. 
The prison doors were opened, and the multitude of suspects were 
set free. The revolutionary tribunal was broken down. The com- 
mune of Paris was so shaped as to strip it of its most dangerous 
powers. The Jacobin and other incendiary clubs were suppressed. 
Religion was declared to be free, and the churches were opened to 
their congregations. The Girondist deputies who survived were 
invited back to their seats in the Convention. The National 
Guards were filled up from the middle class, — the bourgeoisie. 
Little mercy was shown to the Jacobins anywhere. The reaction 
was seen in the altered character of society and of manners. Those 
who had acquired wealth in the late time by the changes of prop- 
erty came to the front. The old fondness for dress and gayety 
reappeared. Paris was again alive with balls and other festive 
entertainments. The salons were crowded with elegant youth of 
the higher class (the jeunesse doree) . The party of Terror were 
cowed ; but in consequence of the rise in the cost of provisions, 
and of the distress caused by it, and by the sudden abrogation of 
tyrannical laws settling the price of food and wages, there were two 
fierce outbreakings of the mob of Paris (April i. May 20, 1795). 
These were quelled, and the power of the Jacobins was finally 
crushed. The moderates had now to guard against the increasing 
strength and rising hopes of the royalists. 



5l6 MODERN HISTORY. 

Conquest of Holland : Prussia. — The armies of France were 
everywhere successful. Through the victories of Jourdan and 
Pichegru, Holland was conquered, and converted into the Bata- 
viaii Republic, and Dutch Flanders surrendered to France. The 
Low Countries were now a dependency of the French Republic 
( 1 794-1 795). Hoche, an excellent general, partly by conciha- 
tion, reduced the West — the theater of the La Vendue revolt — 
to submission. The English and emigrants landed in Quiberon, 
on the coast of Brittany, but were defeated. The coalition was 
broken up, first by the withdrawal of Prussia, which ceded (April 
5, 1795), and, in a secret article, ceded permanently, its territories 
on the left bank of the Rhine to the French, for a compensation 
to be obtained from secularized German states, — that is, states 
in which the old ecclesiastical rule should be abolished. A few 
months later (July, 1795), Spain concluded peace, ceding St. Do- 
mingo to the Republic. The soldiers of France were fast becoming 
trained, and their confidence rose with their increasing success. 
This success was due largely to the weak generalship of the allies. 
The French were commonly hard masters in the conquered places. 
On the other hand, however, they effected a welcome abolition of 
old feudal inequalities and abuses. 

Constitution of 1795. — Meanwhile, there was disaffection, es- 
pecially in the cities, with the rule by the Convention. In the 
cities there was distress, except in the moneyed class. There was 
a yearning for a strong and stable government. The Convention 
framed and submitted to the nation a new constitution, the third 
in the order of political fabrics of this sort. There were to be 
seven hundred and fifty legislators, divided into two bodies, — the 
Council of Elders, or the Ancients, of two hundred and fifty, and 
the Council of Five Hundred. The executive power was given to 
a Directory of five persons. Two-thirds of the councils for the 
first term were to be taken from the Convention. The constitu- 
tion, thus conservative and anti-Jacobin in its character, was well 
received. But there was dissatisfaction in the reactionary parties ; 
and a great insurrection of the royalist middle class in Paris 
(Oct. 5, 1795, the 13th Vendemaire) was promptly put down by 
the resolute action of Bonaparte, to whom had been given the 
command of the troops of the city. It was the royalist and the 
anti-repubhcan parties which now threatened the government. But 
a new authority, the will of the army, was beginning plainly to 
disclose itself. The dread of Jacobinism still existed. What the 
people more and more craved was internal tranquillity and order. 

Bonaparte in Italy: to the Peace of Canipo Pormio. — The 
assignats became worthless. This bankruptcy had one benefit : 
it relieved the state of its debt, and brought coin into circulation. 
A triple attack was planned by Carnot against Austria. In Ger- 



BONAPARTE IN ITALY. 51/ 

many, Jourdan and Moreau were driven back by the Archduke 
Charles of Austria. But a splendid success attended the arms of 
Bonaparte in the attack on the Austrian power in Italy. He had 
been lately married to Josephine Beauharnais, the widow of a 
French general guillotined in 1 794, the only woman to whom he 
appears ever to have been warmly attached. There were two 
children by her former marriage, — Eugene (i 781-1824), and 
Hortense (1783-183 7) who married Louis Bonaparte. Starting 
from Nice, and following the coast, Bonaparte defeated the Aus- 
tria'ns and Piedraontese separately, and forced the latter to con- 
clude a distinct peace, which ceded Savoy and Nice to France. 
He exemplified in this campaign the characteristics which in after- 
years contributed essentially to his success as a general. He 
struck the enemy before they could combine their forces. He did 
not, after the old method, wait to capture all the fortresses in his 
path, but by swift marches made his attacks at unexpected places 
and times. He defeated the Austrians after a brief struggle at the 
bridge of Lodi on the Adda, captured Milan, overran Lombardy 
as far as Mantua, and forced the Pope, and Parma, Modena, and 
Naples, to purchase peace by giving up their treasures of art. 
Thus began the custom of despoiling conquered capitals, and other 
subjugated cities, of works of art, which went to adorn and enrich 
Paris, — a new custom among civilized Christian nations. Wurm- 
ser, the veteran Austrian general, was defeated in a series of 
engagements ; and, after him, another great Austrian army, under 
Alvinzi, was vanquished at Areola (Nov. 14-17, 1796) and at 
Rivoli (Jan. 14, 1797). Bonaparte now crossed the Alps to meet 
the Archduke Charles, who had cleared Germany of its invaders. 
The French general, although his own situation was not free from 
peril, was able to dictate the terms of peace. In the treaty of 
Carnpo Formio (Oct. 17, 1797), Austria ceded the Belgian prov- 
inces to France, recognized the Cisalpine Republic to be estab- 
hshed by Bonaparte in North Italy, and secretly consented to the 
cession of the German provinces on the left bank of the Rhine. 
In return, he gave Venice to Austria, in disregard of the principles 
of international law, and perfidiously as regards that republic, 
which had made its peace with him, and become a democracy 
dependent on France. In this treaty with Austria, there was 
another secret stipulation that Prussia should not be indemnified 
in Germany for her losses on the west of the Rhine. Thus 
Napoleon used the selfishness of the allies to divide them from 
one another. At Tole^itino in February the Pope had ceded for 
the Cispadane Republic the Romagna, Bologna, and Ferrara. A 
young man of twenty-seven, Bonaparte had given proof of his 
astonishing military genius by a series of victories over large armies 
and experienced generals ; and he had evinced equally his skill, 



5l8 MODERN HISTORY. 

as well as his lack of principle, in the field of diplomacy. He had 
won admiration from his enemies by his evident freedom from the 
revolutionary fanaticism, and his contempt for declamation about 
" the rights of man." Returning to Paris, he was received with 
acclamadon, but thought it politic to avoid pubhcity, and to live 
quietly in his modest dweUing. 

Coup d'dtat : 18 Fructidor (Sept. 4, 1797) . — During Bona- 
parte's absence, the royahst and reactionary faction had gained 
ground in the governing bodies. Pichegru was plotting on that side. 
These schemes had been baffled with the timely assistance of a 
detachment of troops sent to Paris by Bonaparte under Augereau. 
On Sept. 4 (the i8th Fructidor), the palace of the Tuileries, where 
the councils met, was surrounded. The reactionary deputies were 
arrested ; Pichegru and his fellow-conspirators were banished. 
This coup d'etat sealed the triumph of the republicans, but it was 
effected through the army. 

The Egyptian Expedition. — The Directory were conscious of 
weakness, and looked with alarm and distrust on the young gen- 
eral, who was fast becoming the idol of the people, as well as of 
the army. They wished him to attempt a descent on England. 
He preferred, in the room of this impracticable venture, to con- 
duct an expedition to Egypt, with the design of getting control, 
if possible, of the Eastern Mediterranean, and of striking at the 
possessions of Great Britain in India. To this scheme the Direc- 
tory, quite willing to have him at a distance, readily consented. 
Hiding his plans until all was ready, he sailed from Toulon (May 
19, 1798) with a strong fleet and army; on his way captured 
Malta through treachery of the knights, and landed safely in 
Egypt. With him were some of the best of the French generals, 
and a large company of scientific men. He defeated the Mame- 
lukes in a great batde fought within sight of the Pyramids. But 
at Aboukir, in the Battle of the Nile, the French fleet was de- 
stroyed by the English naval force under Nelson. The French 
army was thus cut off from the means of return. Bonaparte in- 
vaded Syria, but was prevented by the English fleet from getting 
a foothold on the coast. He had to raise the siege of Acre, and 
returned to Egypt, where he vanquished the Turks at Aboukir. 

Reverses of France in Italy. — Here Bonaparte received infor- 
mation which determined him to leave the army under the command 
of Kleber, and himself to return to France. The European powers 
had once more taken up arms. Among the causes of the renewal 
of the war were the formation by the French of the Roman Repub- 
lic out of the dominion of the Pope, the establishment of the 
Helvetian Republic in Switzerland, and the change of Genoa by 
its own act into the Ligurian Republic. Prussia, since 1795, from 
selfish motives had cooperated with France, and stood aloof from 



THE CONSULATE. 519 

the new — the second — coalition. Paul /, emperor of Russia, 
was active against the French RepubUc, and Pitt was its indefat- 
igable enemy. The Czar had been made Grand Master of the 
Knights of Malta, and made much of this empty dignity. The 
victory of Nelson at Aboiikir cemented the union of the hostile 
powers, with whom the Sultan was now joined. The management 
of the French armies by the government at Paris was unskillful. 
Naples, to be sure, was overcome, and transformed into the Par- 
thenopcean Republic. The king of Sardinia was driven out of 
Piedmont. But Joiirdan was defeated by the Archduke Charles, 
and retreated across the Rhine. The Austrians and the Russian 
army under Suvoroff, a veteran officer, were victorious south of 
the Alps (June, 1799) ; Moreau and Macdonald wexQ defeated at 
Trebbia. The French were defeated again at Novi (Aug. 15), and 
lost almost all Italy. The king of Naples came back, and thou- 
sands of republicans there were cruelly put to death, — a proscrip- 
tion in which Nelson had a part. It was the victory of Massena, 
over the Russians at Zurich, that saved France itself from invasion. 

Overthrow of the Directory : 18th Brumaire. — These reverses 
added to the unpopularity of the Directory. The discontent of 
the Jacobins with their government had given rise to strong meas- 
ures of repression. On the other hand, the wealthy class were 
disgusted at the renewal of the war. A rising was threatened in 
La Vendee. The feeling was widely diffused, that there was need 
of a strong man at the helm to save the ship of state from another 
terrible shipwreck. At this juncture Napoleon appeared in Paris, 
and was greeted with enthusiasm. Sieves and one other director, 
with a majority of the Ancients, agreed to another coup d^etat 
which should make Bonaparte the first magistrate. The garrison 
of Paris was ready to lend its aid. The resistance of the Council 
of Five Hundred at St. Cloiul was baffled by Lucien Bo7iaparte, 
Napoleon'' s brother, their president, and by the use of military 
force. Thus there was accomplished the revolution of the i8th 
Brumaire (Nov. 9, 1799). 

The Consulate. — In the provisional government set up by the 
remnant of the council, Napoleon only gradually assumed the 
chief role. He was later enabled to take and to hold supreme 
power, because of the mutual fear of royalists and republicans, their 
common dread of Jacobinism, and a prevailing conviction that 
safety must be sought in the sway of an individual, representing, 
neither extreme, and strong enough to hold all in check. Yet the 
event evinced the supremacy now gained by the military power. 
Napoleon immediately made excellent financial reforms, and re- 
pealed or softened the laws against the " emigrants " and the 
priests. By such mild and conservative measures, the prosperity 
of France began to be renewed. The constitution of the year VIII. , 



520 MODERN HISTORY. 

as planned by Sieyes and modified by Bonaparte, kept up the sem- 
blance, without much of the reality, of democracy. The checks 
on the power of the First Consul were more nominal than real. 
The mass of the people had power only to vote for lists of citizens, 
out of whom all the higher officers were to be selected by succes- 
sive steps. All legislation was initiated by the Coimcil of State ; 
the Tribunate of a hundred members could discuss proposals made 
thus, but could not act ; the Legislative Chamber of three hundred 
could vote, but not discuss ; and the Senate of eighty was chosen 
for life, with httle to do. This constitution of 1799, in opposition 
to the communal system of 1789 and 1791, estabUshed a central- 
ized administration which destroyed local hberty and self-govern- 
ment. France no longer represented in other countries the cause 
of liberty. In this character its armies had been hailed in Italy, 
where a yearning for national unity was awakened. Equality, not 
liberty, was all that the cause of France now represented. 

Napoleon could not have expected that his overtures of peace 
would be accepted by Austria. The rough, impohtic response 
made by England, helped him by rousing resentment in France. 

Marengo : Peace of Lun^ville. — If Sieyes and others expected 
that Napoleon would merely direct miUtary operations from Paris, 
they were soon undeceived. Massena was at the head of the 
army in Italy, and found it most difficult to hold Genoa against 
the Austrians. Moreau was at the head of the army in Germany. 
Apart from other reasons for taking the field in person, it would 
not have been safe for the new ruler of France to allow himself 
to be eclipsed in military fame by Moreau. Napoleon, as usual 
veiling his purpose, gradually collected a large army, and between 
May 16 and 19, 1800, led his troops, and dragged his cannon, 
over the Gj-eat St. Bernard Pass into Italy, threw himself in the 
rear of Melas, the Austrian general, and entered Milan. He ap- 
pears, however, to have used less than his usual caution, probably 
from fear 'that Melas might escape ; so that he was attacked at 
Marengo (June 14), by that general, at a moment when the French 
forces were not sufficiently concentrated. What threatened to be 
a disastrous defeat for the French, however, was turned into a 
signal victory by the timely arrival of Desaix; and the name of 
Marengo rang through Europe. In December, Moreau won the 
great victory of Hohenlinden over the Archduke John. In Feb- 
ruary, 1 801, the peace of Luneville was concluded. France kept 
its " natural boundaries," Belgium and the west of the Rhine. 
The Italian republics, except Rome and Naples, were restored. 
Tuscany was to be given to a prince of Spain, a country now de- 
pendent on France. The German princes who lost territory were 
to be indemnified by " secularizing " German ecclesiastical states, 
and vied with one another in imploring favors of the conqueror. 



REFORMS OF NAPOLEON. 52 1 

The Northern Alliance : the Peace of Amiens. — England now 
stood alone against France. Her navies were supreme, and had 
captured most of the Dutch as well as French colonies. The 
French army in Egypt had been driven to capitulate on the con- 
dition that it should be transported in English vessels to France. 
Russia, Sweden, and Denmark made (1800) a defensive alliance 
of armed neutrality on the sea, to maintain the right of neutrals to 
trade with belligerents, and the doctrine that the neutral ship pro- 
tects its freight (not being munitions of war) against seizure. Eng- 
land succeeded m ruining this alliance. Pitt now retired from 
office. He had accomplished the legislative union of England and 
Ireland, by which the separate Irish Parliament had ceased to exist 
(1800). But he had encouraged the Irish Catholics to expect 
that they would be delivered from the restrictions which excluded 
them from the House of Commons and from many other offices. 
When the king refused to consent to the fulfillment of these expec- 
tations, P/// resigned (1801). Addington became prime minister. 
England was tired of the war. Peace was concluded at Amiens 
(March, 1802). France was to retain all her conquests on the 
Continent. England surrendered to France and her allies all con- 
quests except Trinidad and Ceylon. Malta was to be given back 
by England to the Knights of Malta. A third great civil triumph 
of Napoleon, added to Luneville and Amiens, was the Concordat 
with the Pope. 

Reforms of Napoleon. — Napoleon now was free to give his 
attention to internal reforms in France. He called into his coun- 
sels the ablest men in all departments of knowledge. In the 
reconstruction of political and social order, his own clear percep- 
tions and energy were everywhere seen. He brought back from 
the old institutions whatever was good and valuable which the 
tempest of revolution had swept away. He reformed the judicial 
system. He caused to be framed the famous Code which bears 
his name, and which still forms the basis of law in several Euro- 
pean countries. He reduced the power of the communes, and cen- 
tralized the administration of government by the system of prefects 
and sub-prefects. Through the Concordat, he renewed the con- 
nection of the Catholic Church of France with Rome, reserving, 
however, to the executive the nomination of archbishops and 
bishops, whom the government was to support, and guarding, in 
the spirit of the Galilean theory, the supremacy of the civil 
authority. Full toleration was secured for non-Catholics. Napo- 
leon personally participated in the religious ceremonies which 
attended the formal restoration of the old system of worship where 
" the Goddess of Reason " had been enthroned during the Ter- 
ror. The ultimate effect of the Concordat was to build up the 
ultramontane, or papal, theory and sway within the church of 



522 MODERN HISTORY. 

France. Education was organized by the establishment of the 
university, the comprehensive name for the entire educational sys- 
tem of the country. All branches of technical instruction were 
carefully fostered. The devotees of science were encouraged with 
an enlightened sympathy and liberal aid. A better organization 
and discipline were brought into the army. 

Character of the Changes. — The changes made by Napoleon, 
while they secured the equality of all Frenchmen before the law, 
did nothing to rescue civil liberty, such as the republicans had 
aimed to secure. They were all in the direction of monarchy. 
Distinctions, like the Legion of Honor, were invented ; titles were 
instituted ; a new aristocracy, made up of relics of the old noblesse 
and of fresh recruits, was created ; Napoleon was declared to be 
consul for life, and the mechanism of the government was con- 
verted into a practical dictatorship. Unsparing in his treatment 
of Jacobins, he aimed still to moderate the passions of party. His 
activity was seen in an excellent system of public works, such as 
canals and noble highways, in new towns, and in magnificent build- 
ings which he erected in Paris. At the same time, he went as far 
as it was safe to go in bringing in monarchical manners and lux- 
uries. He himself adopted a regal way of living. He had no 
faith in democracy, and spoke with unaffected scorn of " ideology," 
or the theoretical statesmanship which based itself on ideas of 
" human rights " in the matter of exercising government. The 
press was placed under stringent police regulation. Napoleon's 
family began to contend, with " Corsican shamelessness," for high 
honors. A feud soon came to exist between them and the Beau- 
harnais, — the family oi Josephine. Was the principle of heredity 
to come back? 

Renewed War with England. — In 1803 the war was renewed 
with England. That Napoleon was resolved to dictate in Euro- 
pean affairs, as he was practical dictator in the French Republic, 
was plain. He controlled the republics dependent on France. 
He annexed Piedmont. He made the Spanish Boui'bons do his 
bidding. He intervened in G(fr;«a??y / among other things, offend- 
ing Austria by enlarging the bounds of Prussia. He exercised 
over the minor German states the influence of which Austria had 
been robbed. He complained of the strictures of the English 
press, and of the asylum granted in England to conspirators against 
his rule. He was angry that Malta was not given up, which Eng- 
land refused to do on account of an aggrandizement of France 
not consistent with the Peace of Amiens. There were provoca- 
tions on both sides, and war was inevitable. 

Plan of Invading England. — Napoleon seized Hanover. He 
talked of making a descent on England. He gathered a vast army 
near Boulogne, and constructed an immense flotilla for the trans- 



THE NEW FRENCH EMPIRE. 523 

portation of it across the Channel. His design was to decoy away 
the British fleet, and then to concentrate enough ships of his own 
in the Channel to protect the passage of his forces. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PROM THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE TO THE RUS- 
SIAN CAMPAIGN (1804-1812). 

The Empire (J804). — Various attempts had been made against 
Napoleo7i's life. An *' infernal machine " was exploded near his 
carriage. On that occasion, only the swift driving of the coach- 
man saved him from death (1800). There were now royahst 
plots against his life, of which Count cTArtois was cognizant. 
Pichegru was an accomplice ; and Moreau, although not favoring 
the restoration of the Bourbons, was not entirely innocent. The 
former died in prison ; Moreau escaped to America. Napoleon, 
exasperated by these plots, caused the Duke tV Enghien, a young 
prince of the Conde branch of the Bourbons, to be seized on Ger- 
man territory, — in Baden, — and dragged away into France, where, 
at Vincennes^ after a hurried military examination, he was shot, 
and buried in a grave that had been dug for him before the 
sentence was pronounced. Of this act of Napoleon, it was said 
by Fouche, " It was worse than a crime : it was a blunder." The 
young prince was really innocent. He was a victim of the natural, 
but violent, wrath of Napoleon, who wanted to strike a blow that 
his enemies would feel. The event opened the way for him — as 
it was perhaps intended that^it should — to the object of his 
ambition, the imperial tide and throne. He was authorized to 
adopt a successor. This, the different parties felt, would make his 
government stable and secure. He was proclaimed emperor, the 
election being ratified by popular vote. The crown was to be 
handed down in his family. In imitation of Charlemagne, whom 
he affected to consider a Frenchman and a predecessor, he was 
crowned, with splendid pomp, by Pope Pius VII. (Dec. 2, 1804), 
in Notre Dame. He took the crown from the Pope's hands, and 
placed it on his own head. 

The New Royalty. — The emperor surrounded himself with 
the insignia and ceremonies of royalty. The members of his 
family became princes and princesses. A new nobility, with the 
various ancient titles, was called into being. He made his gen- 
erals — eighteen in number, most of whom had sprung from the 
ranks — marshals. He first diminished the number of the Tri- 
bunate, then (1807) abolished it. The republic of 1789 had 
now passed into an absolute military monarchy. 



524 MODERN HISTORY. 

Third Coalition against France (1805). — Napoleon turned the 
Italian Republic into a vassal monarchy, with himself for its ruler 
(1805). He incorporated Genoa with France. His step-son, 
Eugene Beauharnais, he made viceroy of Italy. Pitt had come 
back to office. Events since the death of the Dnke d'Enghien 
made it possible for him to create the third coalition of England 
(in union with Austria, Russia, and Sweden) for restoring the 
balance of power in Europe. Paul I. of Russia had been won 
over from the previous coalition by the adroit efforts of Napoleon, 
and by the Czar's hostility to England on account of Malta ( 1 800) , 
he being grand master of the knights. His ordinary state of mind 
bordered on derangement, so that he was not fit to reign. Re- 
fusing to abdicate, he was assassinated by nobles (1801), and his 
son Alexandei' I. (1801-24) succeeded him. Russia was now 
reconciled to England, and the Northern Neutrality Convention 
against her maritime oppression was dissolved. 

Position of Prussia. — The king of ^xwi&id,, Frederick William 
III. ( 1 797-1840), and the ministers whom he trusted, refused to 
listen to his spirited queen, Louisa, and the more earnest, patriotic 
party, by which he was urged to unite with the coalition. He 
clung to his policy of neutrality, and was to be bribed by the gift 
of Hanover. The attitude of Prussia, which had been governed 
by selfish considerations, was long the pivot on which the success 
of Napoleon's aggressions hung. 

Failure of Villeneuve. — If Napoleon ever seriously projected an 
invasion of England he abandoned the scheme before 1805, although 
he retained an army at Boulogne to alarm the English. Villeneuve, 
whose fleet was to command the Channel, had escaped from Nel- 
son and was on his way back from the West Indies. The admiralty 
were warned of his movement by a vessel of fight draught which 
Nelson, when he could not find his foe, dispatched to inform them 
of the danger. Villeiieuve, after an indecisive action against the 
force sent to meet him under Sir Robert Calder, put first into the 
harbor of Ferrol, and then repaired to Cadiz. Nelson came back 
with his fleet to the Channel. 

Ulm and Trafalgar. — The allies marked out four lines of in- 
vasion. The second and principal advance was to be up the 
valley of the Danube, and to be pursued by the Russians and 
Austrians. Napoleon did not wait for them to unite. He now 
made use of the army collected for the proposed invasion of Eng- 
land. He suddenly broke up his camp at Boulogne, and swiftly 
led his splendid and thoroughly drilled army across the Rhine, 
to the rear of the Austrian forces, of which Mack was the com- 
mander. Other detachments from Hanover and Holland came 
down the Main to take part in the movement. The Austrians 
were surrounded in Ulm, and gave themselves up, thirty thousand 



THE EMPIRE OF NAPOLEON. 525 

in number, as prisoners of war (Oct. 17, 1805). The strategy 
was like that pursued in the campaign of Mare7igo : the result 
was even more astonishing. It was not long, however, before 
news came to him of a great disaster to the French on the sea. 
Four days after the surrender at Uim, Nelson achieved a grand 
victory off Cape Trafalgar, over the French and Spanish fleets. 
Before Villeneuve decided to leave the shelter of Cadiz, he had 
been obliged to weaken himself by sending away a number of his 
ships. The watchword sent from the flag-ship just before the 
encounter — ''England expects every man to do his duty" — 
called forth shouts of enthusiasm from the decks of the British 
fleet. Two-thirds of the French ships were captured or ruined. 
Nelson himself was struck by a bullet, and died the same night. 
His private life was not free from grave faults, but he was the 
greatest naval hero England has ever produced. 

Austerlitz : Confederation of the Rhine. — On the land, the 
career of Napoleon was triumphant. The " Grand Army," with 
its system of corps and reserves, marched on Vienna, which was 
occupied on the 13th of November. The Russians were still to 
be encountered. The army of Alexander was a very powerful 
one ; but he made, instead of awaiting, the attack, and, on the 
2d of December, was utterly defeated on the memorable field of 
Austerlitz. The Peace of Pressburg followed (Dec. 26, 1805). 
Austria gave up Venice, which was annexed to the new Italian 
kingdom, of which Napoleon was the head. The Tyrol went to 
Bavaria, whose elector was recognized as a king, as was also the 
elector of Wiirtemberg. Soon after, the Bourbons were dethroned 
at Naples, and Napoleon's brother Joseph took that kingdom. 
Bavaria, Baden, IVurtembetg, and other smaller states were united 
into a Confederation of the Rhine {id,o6), ^\t\\ Napoleon for its 
protector. The Holy Roman Empire from that time had no longer 
even the shadow of a reality. Francis I. was simply emperor 
of Austria, and Austria was greatly reduced in power. 

Fall of Prussia. — Prussia now stood by herself. Out of alarm 
at the progress of the French arms, and anger because French 
troops had been led across her territory without her consent, she 
had preferred to join the coalition. Austerlitz moved her to 
retrace her steps. She received Hanover as the price of a re- 
newed alliance. England now declared war against Prussia. But 
Fox, who was an advocate of peace, had come into power in Eng- 
land (Jan. 23, 1806) ; and Prussia discovered that Napoleon, who 
was friendly to him, was negotiating for the surrender of Hanover 
to that country. This crowning indignity moved Prussia, at this 
inopportune moment, to take up arms against him. Prussia had 
no ally but Russia. The Prussian army was full of pride and hope ; 
but its organization and method of warfare were after the old, tradi- 



526 MODERN HISTORY. 

tional fashion which had come down from the days of F?'edenck 
the Great, and its commander, the Duke of Brunswick, though 
brave, was superannuated. In the two battles of Jena and Auer- 
stadt, fought on the same day (Oct. 14, 1806), the Prussian 
forces were routed, and either captured or dispersed. A fortnight 
later (Oct. 27), Napoleon was in Berlin. Fortress after fortress 
was surrendered, and corps after corps captured by his troops. 
The royal family, including the Queen Louisa, were treated per- 
sonally with harshness and disdain. The Prussian monarchy, to all 
appearance, was in ruins. Its museums and picture-galleries were 
robbed of their treasures, which went away as trophies to Paris. 
The Saxon Elector, made a king, joined the Rhenish Confederacy. 

Fox died on Sept. 13, 1806. In 1807 (March 31), the Duke of Portland 
became prime minister ; the rival and rising statesmen, Castlereagh and 
Canjting, being both in the cabinet. 

To the Peace of Tilsit. — It remained for the conqueror to 
deal with Russia. He had intended to prosecute a winter cam- 
paign in Poland, but the severity of the winter and the lack of 
supplies obliged him to fall back from Pultusk to the Vistula. 
The Russians now took the initiative. A terrible battle at Eylau 
(Feb. 7 and 8, 1807) was indecisive. Napoleon drew additional 
troops from all parts of his empire to supply the losses of the 
grand army. Benningsen, the Russian general, was incautious, 
and at Friedland (June 14) was routed. Dantzic and the still 
unconquered provinces of Prussia fell into the hands of the French. 
This series of wonderful successes made the revolution in the art 
of war, which Napoleon had introduced, obvious to the dullest 
eyes. His peculiar method of rapid movement, and subsistence 
on the country, and the obstacles to its uniform success, were 
likewise evident. The Emperor Alexander and Napoleon met on 
the Niemen. Alexander was won by Napoleon's gracious and 
friendly demeanor. At Tilsit, on the North- Prussian frontier, 
peace was concluded (July 7 and 9, 1807). Prussia fared the 
hardest. She lost half of her territory. She had to close her ports 
and lands to British trade, to limit her army to forty-two thou- 
sand men, and to consent to the erection of a duchy of Warsaw 
out of her Polish territory. Out of the Elbe provinces, a king- 
dom of Westphalia was constructed, of which Jerome Bonaparte 
received the crown. Russia also recognized Louis Bonaparte, 
another brother of Napoleon, as king of Holland. Alexander 
promised to go to war with England in case England rejected the 
offer of peace which he was to make as mediator. Alexander and 
Napoleon were to be fast friends and allies. Russia was to expand 
on the north and east, but not to have Constantinople. Napoleon 
had no better apology for the dismemberment of Prussia than a 
reference to the intemperate manifesto of the Duke of Brunswick 



THE EMPIRE OF NAPOLEON. 527 

in 1792, on the occasion of the first invasion of France. His real 
object was thoroughly to divide and disable Germany, and to take 
away the last obstacle to his complete control within its borders. 

Power of Napoleon. — No ruler since Charlemagne had held 
such power as was now wielded by Napoleon. " Sovereign of 
France from the Scheldt to the Pyrenees, and of Italy from the 
Alps to the Tiber," he had given the throne of Holland to his 
brother Louis, that oi Naples to Joseph, and made Jerome king of 
Westphalia. Spain was content to do his will, and Germany was 
under his feet. He was the leader of mighty armies, with no mili- 
tary rival to endanger his supremacy over them. His conquests, 
it was impossible to deny, carried with them the abolition of 
numerous time-worn abuses, and the introduction of important 
material improvements. France was in many respects prosperous 
under the despotism established over it. 

Elements of Weakness. — But there were certain elements of 
weakness which Napoleon did not sufficiently discern. ' The feel- 
ing of nationality and patriotism in the subject countries was cer- 
tain to awake with a strength which he did not at all anticipate. 
Old Rome had extinguished this feeling in most of her provinces, 
but there were countries whose spirit even Rome could not break. 
Napoleon undertook a task to which no man was equal. Mean- 
time, he was exhausting the military resources of France. If its 
male population continued to be willing to follow him to the 
slaughter, where were the men to be found to fill the places of 
the multitudes that fell? The time must come when the hunger 
of the French for military glory would be sated, and dazzling victories 
would cease to hide the fearful cost at which they were purchased. 

The Continental System. — The Treaty of Tilsit was followed 
by acts on the part of Napoleon which show the presumptuous 
confidence and arrogant spirit of domination, which, however 
natural on the pinnacle of might to which he had raised himself, 
proved disastrous, and, in the end, fatal. One of these acts was 
the " Continental System," ordained in the Berlin and Milan 
Decj'ees. 

A Prussian decree (1806), Prussia being then a vassal of Napoleon, under- 
took to close the ports and rivers of the North Sea to English shipping. In 
retaliation, there was issued a British " Order in Council," declaring the coast 
from the Elbe to Brest in a state of blockade ; the portion from Ostend 
to the Seine being declared to be under a rigorous blockade. This led to 
the Berlin Decree of Napoleon (Nov. 21, 1806). Then second "Orders in 
Council" (Nov. 11, 1807), prohibiting trade with France, her allies and colo- 
nies, as if they were blockaded, called out the Milan Decree of Napoleon 
(Dec. 17, 1807). 

The continental system thus originated undertook to cut off 
trade between the entire Continent and England, by ordering all 
the merchandise of England and her colonies to be seized and 



528 MODERN HISTORY. 

confiscated, wherever it might be found, — even ships which touched 
at English ports. The design was to inflict injury on England. 
It had this effect, but it had the same effect on France, and still 
more in the other countries which profited by English trade. 
Wide-spread disaffection at the attempts to enforce this system was 
the inevitable consequence. Moreover, one result of it was to 
stimulate Napoleon to further conquests to keep up and to extend 
his commercial policy. Another motive was added to his growing 
and insatiable ambition for universal dominion. 

Invasion of Spain : Wagram. — Russia had declared war against 
Great Britain, according to the promise of Alexander at Tilsit. 
The British seized the Danish fleet in the harbor of Copenhagen, 
to prevent it from falling into the hands of Russia and France 
(Sept., 1807). Napoleon made this act a partial excuse for invad- 
ing the Spanish peninsula, under the pretense of guarding the coasts 
against the English. His army entered Lisbon, and he declared 
that the house of Braganza had ceased to reign. His forces ad- 
vanced into Spain beyond Madrid. Dissensions between Charles 
IV. and his son Ferdi?iafid enabled Napoleon to get himself 
chosen as arbiter ; and having enticed the two contestants to Bay- 
onne, he set them both aside, and gave the crown of Spain to his 
\yio\}:^Q.x Joseph, — Mural, who had married Napoleon's sister Caj-o- 
line, taking the throne of Naples. This high-handed proceeding 
roused the Spanish people to revolt. The officers of Napoleon 
were several times defeated. A British force under Wellingto7i — 
then Sir Arthur Wellesley — appeared in Portugal "lo lend help to 
the national movement. A French fleet in Cadiz was destroyed. 
Napoleon invaded Spain with an overwhelming force, and estab- 
lished his brother at Madrid (Dec. 2, 1808). But the people still 
kept up a harassing guerilla war. From Spain Napoleon was called 
away by the rising of Austria, which the events in Spain had once 
more moved to begin hostilities. Within a month from the begin- 
ning of the campaign, he again entered Vienna as a victor (May 
II, 1809). He suffered a reverse at Aspern ; but in the desperate 
battle of IVagram, in which not far from three hundred thousand 
men took part, he was triumphant. Austria purchased peace by 
further cessions of territory, and by joining the Continental System. 
The brave Tyrolese kept up the struggle with an heroic spirit ; 
but at last Hofer, their leader, was captured and shot at Ma?itua 
(1810). 

Pius VII. — As Pius VII. refused to close his ports against Eng- 
land, and to ally himself with France, Napoleon proclaimed (May, 
1809) that the Papal States were annexed to his empire. The 
Pope, who had steadfastly resisted his attempts at coercion, excom- 
municated him. The pontifl'was arrested, and conveyed to Savona, 
and afterwards to France. 



THE EMPIRE OF NAPOLEON. 529 

Sweden : Bernadotte. — Another ally in upholding the " Con- 
tinental System" against England, Napoleon gained in Sweden, 
where one of his marshals, Bernadotte, had been chosen Crown 
Prince. 

* Under Adolf Frederic (iji^i-iTji), a council of nobles usurped many of 
the functions of the king. A combined Russian and French party in Sweden 
was against him. His son, Giistazms III. (1771-1792), being supported by 
France, invaded Russian Finland, and, by the help of the Estates, reduced the 
power of the nobles, giving, however, to the Estates in the new constitution, 
the right to veto a project for offensive war. He was murdered in 1792. 
His son Gitstavus IV., who became of age in 1808, was a bitter opponent of 
Napoleon, whom he considered to be the beast of the Apocalypse (Rev. xiii. i ). 
After the Peace of Tilsit, he made war on Russia, and on Denmark, from 
which he sought to wrest Norway. The nobles and the army rose against 
him, and obliged him to abdicate (1809). His uncle, Cha7'les XIII., became 
king. Fi7iland was surrendered to Russia. The king having no children, 
Beriiadotte (1764-1844), a French marshal, made by Napoleo7i Prince of Pon- 
tecorvo, but who often showed himself independent in his relations to him, 
was elected Crown Prince of Sweden (1810). Sweden joined the Continental 
System. 

Napoleon's Divorce and Marriage. — Napoleon, who was child- 
less, in the hope of founding a dynasty on a sure basis procured 
a divorce ixova. Josephine, and vcv^xxxqA Maria Louisa, the daughter 
of Francis I. of Austria. To the son who was born of this mar- 
riage he gave the sounding title of Kiftg of Rome, the old desig- 
nation of the emperors-elect before their coronation. 

Torres Vedras. — The first successful stand against the military 
supremacy of Bonaparte was made in Spain. Wellington divined 
the secret of the French victories, and devised the means of 
effectual resistance. In Portugal, between the Tagus and the sea 
he fortified the position called Torres Vedras, which could be 
defended against superior forces. This he held against all the 
efforts of Massena to conquer and dislodge him. Deprived of 
the means of subsistence, the French suffered great losses and pri- 
vations, and were obliged to retreat (May, 181 1). Their method 
depended for success on the attaining of the desired result in a 
short time by swift operations. 

Reaction against Napoleon. — The campaign of Wellington 
produced a strong moral effect in other parts of Europe. While 
France was beginning to show signs of weariness with the endless 
war, and with the despotic government under which it was kept 
up, in Germany a new spirit of patriotism was stirring in the hearts 
of the people. Under Stein, a great and patriotic minister, the 
Prussian system of civil administration was reorganized on a sound 
basis. The army was likewise reconstructed on the basis of uni- 
versal military service. Serfdom was abolished and the old caste 
system, with its restrictions on land-holding, abandoned. A new 
Germany was slowly waking to life, and collecting its energies for 



530 MODERN HISTORY. 

the combat for freedom. The " Continental System " caused in- 
creasing irritation. Louis Bonapai-te abdicated his throne in Hol- 
land, rather than enforce its odious requirements (July, 1810). 
The quarrel of Napoleo7i with the Pope, and the indignities suffered 
by the pontiff, who lived for three years upon alms, added to the 
discontent which the emperor's commercial policy provoked, even 
in France. 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN (1812) TO THE CONGRESS 
OF VIENNA (1814-15). 

The Russian Campaign — The circumstances narrated above 
did not prevent Napoleon from the fatal mistake of invading 
Russia. The czar would not enforce the commercial restrictions. 
Napoleon refused to promise not to restore the kingdom of Poland. 
There were various other causes of mutual jealousy and coolness. 
Sweden, under Bernadotte, which had been forced to declare war 
against England (1810), now joined Russia. Aush'-ia and Prus- 
sia, in their state of practical vassalage, had to furnish military 
help to Napoleon. In June, 181 2, when he crossed the Niemen, 
he had brought together a force of five hundred and fifty thousand 
men. He had reinforcements from Poland, and might have had 
more had he not, from deference to Austria and Prussia, refused 
to restore the Polish kingdom. The Russians retreated as he 
advanced. Barclay, the Russian general, declined a battle, and 
destroyed whatever places could afford an advantage to the invader. 
At length, Kutusoff took the command, and was compelled by the 
Russian feeling, against his will, to give battle. At Borodino, 
where there was immense slaughter on both sides, the Russians 
retired, but without disorder. When the French arrived at Mos- 
cow, they found an empty town, which was set on fire by accident 
or by Russians. The Czar refused to treat for peace. There was 
no alternative but to retreat (Oct. 19, 181 2). The sufferings of the 
soldiers from cold and famine were terrible. The Russians availed 
themselves of every opportunity to harass the retreating force. 
When it reached the ruins of Smolensk, only forty thousand were 
left of more than a hundred thousand that had left Moscow. The 
army continued to dwindle. At Smorgoni, Napoleon left Murat 
in command, and hastened in disguise to Paris. The expedition 
cost the lives of not less than three hundred thousand men. This 
gigantic failure was due to the foiling by the Russians of Napoleon's 
habitual plan of forcing decisive battles by movements so rapid 
that his troops could subsist upon the country which they overran, 
and to the unexpected destruction of Moscow. 



THE FALL OF NAPOLEON. 531 

The German "War of Liberation: Leipsic. — In Germany, there 
now began the great IVar of Liberation. York — the commander 
of the Prussian contingent reluctantly furnished to Napoleon — 
went over to the Russians (Dec. 1812). During the first three 
months of 181 3, all North Germany rose in arms. Heart-stirring 
appeals were issued by Frederick William III. to his people. He 
called for the formation of volunteer corps, and all young men 
capable of bearing arms responded with alacrity to the summons. 
Russia and Prussia formed a defensive alliance. Sweden made 
a treaty with England, and agreed to assist the allies. Napoleon's 
wonted success attended him at first in the encounter with the 
Russian and Prussian forces. He gained a victory at Liltzen 
(May 2), and another at Bautzen (May 20, 21). Austria sought 
to mediate, but Napoleon unwisely preferred war. Austria now, 
disregarding the family tie with Napoleon, was drawn by the cur- 
rent of German patriotism, as well as by self-interest, into the 
alliance against him. His imperious and arrogant domination was 
felt to be insupportable. But the circumstance that determined 
the course of Austria was the victory gained by Wellington at 
Victoria, in Spain, over the French under Jourdan (June 21). 
The news of it turned the scale in the Austrian councils. The 
odds against Napoleon were now fearful, especially as his own 
army was largely composed of recruits who were hardly above the 
age of boys. He won one more triumph at Dresden (Aug. 27), 
but this was his last victory on German soil. The allies avoided 
the errors which he had taught them to avoid, and succeeded in 
bringing their forces together, and in compelling Napoleon to fight 
at Leipsic. The allied armies numbered three hundred thousand, 
while the French force did not exceed a hundred and eighty 
thousand. The "battle of the nations" lasted for three days 
(Oct. 16, 18, 19), although the fighting was chiefiy on the first 
and third. On the last day it continued for nine hours. The 
Saxon contingent abandoned the French on the field, and went 
over to the allies. The defeat of the French, as night approached, 
became a rout. Napoleon, with the remnant of his army, was 
driven to the Rhine. The battle oi Leipsic was really the decisive 
contest in the wars of Europe against Napoleon. From the de- 
feat there, it was impossible for him to recover. 

Pall of Napoleon: Elba. — The members of the Confederacy of 
the Rhine joined the allies. Hollajid rose in revolt, and drove out 
the French officials. Even France was exhausted and full of dis- 
content. Meantime Wellington defeated Soult in the Pyrenees, and 
invaded France from that side. Napoleon was bent on resistance, 
and by his superior skill succeeded in ousting the brave Prussian 
soldier, but inexpert strategist, Bli/cher, as well as the Austrian 
general Schwartzenberg (Jan. and Feb. 18 14). But the prepon- 



532 MODERN HISTORY. 

derance of numbers on the side of the aUies was too great. Their 
bold decision to march on Paris secured their triumph. The city 
surrendered (March 30) . Napoleon had lost his hold on the ruling 
bodies. The senate, through the influence of the astute Talley- 
rand, once his minister, declared that he and his family had for- 
feited the throne. At Fontainebleau, he signed his abdication in 
favor of his son (April 6), but this condition was rejected. The 
small island of Elba was given to him by the allies as a sovereign 
principality. After a pathetic farewell to his veteran Guard, he 
betook himself to his small dominion. Louis XVIII., the brother 
of Louis XVI, was placed on the throne of France. France, by 
the Peace of Paris (May 30), was left with its ancient boundaries 
as they were before the Revolution shghtly increased. 

The Charter. — According to a promise which the king had 
given, he (June 4, 1814) promulgated a constitutional Charter, a 
name borrowed from the Middle Ages when charters were granted 
to vassals. There was to be a legislature, with a house of peers or 
lords appointed by the king, and a chamber of deputies chosen 
by limited suffrage ; the electors to be owners of property to a 
certain amount, and to be thirty years old. The king was to have 
the initiative in legislation. The Roman Catholic religion was 
declared to be the religion of the state, but liberty was given to 
dissenters. The right to make peace and war was given to the 
king, and also the right to issue ordinances necessary for the 
execution of the laws and the safety of the state. This last pro- 
vision opened a door for arbitrary government, and paved the 
way for the downfall of the dynasty. The points of resemblance 
in the constitution to the English system were adapted to provoke 
a constant contrast with it, in respect to the degree of liberty 
actually secured and exercised by the people. The charter was 
dated from the nineteenth year of Louis XVIIL, as if there had 
been no Republic or Empire. 

Pius VII. — Pope Pius VII., who, after 1809, was a virtual prisoner at 
Savona, refused to comply with Napoleon's demands. He could not be 
moved to invest the bishops whom the emperor had appointed. This was a 
principal point in the dispute. Napoleon called a national council of French 
bishops (iS 11). In 1812 the Pope was taken to Fontainebleau., z.x\A treated 
by him with harshness. When the pontiff refused to give a full and final 
sanction to the proposed agreement, until he should be free to confer with his 
cardinals, he was treated with still greater severity. The fall of Napoleon 
set him free, and he entered Rome, May 24, 18 14. 

Congress of Vienna. — In September, 18 14, the congress of 
Vienna met to readjust the map of Europe after the whirlwind of 
change and revolution. There were present the emperors of Rus- 
sia and Austria, the kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, and Wiir- 
temberg, and a great number of German princes. Castlereagh, and 
later Wellington, represented England, and Talleyrand was one of 



THE FALL OF NAPOLEON. 533 

the representatives of France. The conferences were far from be- 
ing harmonious. In particular, the claims of Russia upon Poland, 
and the claims of Prussia on Germany, threatened another war. 
While the debates, alternating with gay festivities, were still proceed- 
ing, the participants were startled by the news of the reappearance 
of Napoleon in France. 

Return of Napoleon from Elba. — The new Bourbon rule was 
unpopular with the French. It was felt to be the effect and sign 
of national humiliation. The offensive conduct of the returned 
emigrant nobility, and measures looking towards a restoration of 
bygone abuses in government, fomented the disaffection. Napo- 
leon, while apparently busy in laying out roads and canals, and 
regulating the affairs of his little kingdom, which was only sixty 
miles in circumference, kept himself well informed as to the state 
of public opinion in France. With a few hundred men of the 
Imperial Guard, he landed at Cannes (March i, 1815), and was 
joined by one regiment after another which were sent out to crush 
him. Ney, one of the best of his marshals, was carried away by 
the common feeling, and went over to the side of his old com- 
mander. Louis XVIII. fled from Paris ; and, on March 20, Na- 
poleon was again installed in the Tuileries. 

Waterloo. — Napoleon offered to the country a more liberal 
constitution, but the Bourbons were more hated than he was 
trusted. He professed to the great powers his desire for peace, 
but they did not listen to these assurances. Each agreed to fur- 
nish an army of one hundred and eighty thousand men to serve 
against him. He put forth prodigious exertions to gather a force 
with which to meet the host of his enemies ; and although he 
could appeal to no warm national feeling, such as had called into 
being the armies of the Revolution, he succeeded in bringing 
together a force of over one hundred thousand men. He decided 
not to wait for the attack, but to assail the two armies of Blikher 
and Wellington in Belgium. His plan was to attack them sepa- 
rately. Bliicher so far fell into the trap, that, in his eagerness to 
meet the detested foe, he offered battle to Napoleon at Ligny 
(June 16), and, after a desperate contest, was forced to retire 
from the field. On the same day, Wellington so far checked Ney 
in his attack at Quatre Bras, that he could not strike the Prus- 
sians on the flank, as Napoleon had designed. Napoleon thought 
that the Prussians would not be able, after their defeat, at once to 
aid Wellington. He sent Grouchy, however, with thirty-four thou- 
sand men, to obsei-ve them and inflict on them a final blow. On 
the forenoon of June 18, he himself attacked the British forces at 
Waterloo. The French got possession of La Haye Sainte, a farm- 
house in front of Wellington's center, the scene of a bloody 
contest ; but all their charges on Wellington's main line were met 



534 MODERN HISTORY. 

and repelled by the immovable squares of the British infantry. In the 
afternoon Napoleon's right began to be assailed by the Prussians ; 
and finding, at seven o'clock, that they were coming in great force, 
he ordered a charge of the Imperial Guard on Wellington's forces. 
After a fierce struggle, the Guard was compelled to recoil and re- 
tire. The Prussians, piercing the right flank of the French army, 
turned its defeat into a rout. Grouchy was at Wavre, fighting 
the Prussian corps of Thielniann, which he seems to have mistaken 
for the entire Prussian army. 

Abdication of Napoleon: St. Helena. — On the 2 2d of June 
Napoleon again abdicated in favor of his son. Car7iot was for a 
dictatorship. The French Assembly, with La Fayette at its head, 
insisted on the abdication. On July 7 Blikher and Wellington 
entered Paris. Napoleon fled to Rochefort, and, finding himself 
unable to escape to America, surrendered to the British admiral, 
and was taken on board the war-ship Bellerophon. Louis XVIII. 
was brought back to Paris. Napoleon, by the agreement of the 
allies, was conveyed to the island of St. Helena, where he re- 
mained, a fretful captive, until his death (May 5, 1821). Ney 
escaped, but was captured, condemned, and shot (Dec. 7, 1815). 
France engaged to pay a war indemnity of seven hundred million 
francs. Its boundaries were fixed as at 1790. 

Character of Napoleon. — Respecting certain traits of Napoleon, 
there is no dispute. His military genius all allow, although his daring was 
sometimes over-daring ; and there are critics who profess to discern, after 
the beginning of the Russian campaign, and especially in the last contest in 
Belgium, signs of a decline in his almost superhuman vigilance and energy. 
Yet all must admit "that transcendent geometrical faculty," as Sainte-Beuve 
calls it, "which characterized Napoleon, and which that powerful genius 
applied to war with the same ease and the same aptitude that Monge [a great 
French mathematician] applied it to other subjects." No general ever had 
greater power to fascinate soldiers, and secure their devotion to him. One 
reason was, that he recognized and rewarded merit wherever he saw it. 
His intellectual movements were as much swifter than the ordinary as his 
marches were more rapid than those to which armies had been accustomed. 
For civil organization and administration he had rare talents, and in many 
directions enlightened views. Europe owes much to his innovations in this 
sphere. He was not incapable of warm personal attachments; as was mani- 
fested, for example, in his grief over Diiroc, the favorite general, who fell 
at Bautzen. But an insatiable appetite for war, and, still more, a conviction, 
which he sometimes confessed, that he could retain and fortify his authority 
only by dazzling France, and continuing to astonish mankind by brilliant 
achievements, drove him forward on a path of aggression and bloodshed. 
He had an unpitying nature : he was careless of human suffering. Early in 
his career, in Italy, he ordered a needless and useless attack on the outposts 
of the enemy, " to treat a lady to a sight of real war." He did not shrink from 
ordering two thousand prisoners zX Jaffa to be shot. He shocked all Ger- 
many by causing Palm, a bookseller of Nureffiberg, to be shot for refusmg to 
tell the name of the author of a publication offensive to him. He frequently 
displayed a petty rancor, — as, for example, in leaving a legacy in his will to 
the man who was accused of an attempt to assassinate the Duke of Wellington. 
His violence of temper, as in the murder of the Duke d'Enghien, hurried him 



jr^^^j^. 




THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA. 535 

into acts that were not less impolitic than criminal. His tyrannical will would 
brook no contradiction, even in matters of trifling importance. He broke away 
from engagements when he thought it advantageous to do so. It is not an 
injustice to say, that he was habitually untruthful : his bulletins were dis- 
figured by flagrant falsehoods, as well as gross exaggerations. In a letter to 
Talleyrand from Italy (Oct. 17, 1797) he says, "This is history: what I say 
in my proclamations and speeches is a romance." With his wonderful in- 
tellectual powers, inexhaustible energy, and amazing achievements, he never 
quite loses the characteristic spirit of an adventurer. He is haunted by a 
secret consciousness that this character belongs to him. 

The judgment of an adversary must be taken with allowance ; but WeUitigton spoke at 
least without passion when he said, " Bonaparte's whole life — civil, political, and military — 
was a fraud. There was not a transaction, great or small, in which lying and fraud were not 
introduced." His " foreign policy was force and menace, aided by fraud and corruption." 
— Croker's Corfespoidejtce, etc., vol. ii. p. 85. 

The Congress of Vienna. — The Congress of Vienna was dis- 
solved in June, 1815. Its Acts were finally signed by the five great 
powers, — Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, — 
and by Spain, Portugal, and Sweden. The Austrian and Prussian 
monarchies were restored. Austria received back Venice with 
Milan, — forming the subject Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, — be- 
sides receiving the Illyrian provinces and the Tyrol. The old 
possessions of Prussia were restored. She received the Rhenish 
provinces, a pan of the duchy of Warsaw {Fosen), and a great 
part of Saxony, besides other irnportant additions. Holland and 
Belgium were formed into the one kingdom of the Netherlands, 
which had also a part of Luxemburg, and was ruled by the stadt- 
holder William I. The German Confederacy was instituted, with 
thirty-nine sovereign states, including the four free cities, — Austria 
being the presiding state. The greater part of the duchy of War- 
saw fell to Russia, under the name of the Kingdom of Poland, 
Sweden retained Norway, which, however, kept its own free con- 
stitution ; and Denmark acquired Lauenburg. England had vastly 
enlarged her colonial possessions. The present Swiss Confedera- 
tion, consisting of twenty-two cantons, was established ; three new 
cantons having been added to the former nineteen. The old 
dynasties were restored in Spain, in Tuscany, Modena, and the 
Papal States, in Naples, and in Sardinia. To Sardinia, Genoa, 
against its will, was annexed. 

Chronological Statement. — The First Coalition was formed in 1793, 
when all Europe, except Sweden, Denmark, Tuscany, Switzerland, Venice 
and Genoa, and Turkey, joined against France. In 1792 P^rance had been 
at war with Austria and Prussia. In 1795 ^^^ coalition was broken: Prussia 
and Spain made peace with France. In 1797 Austria also concluded peace 
with France (the Peace of Canipo For??iio). In 1798 the Second Coalition was 
formed, in which Turkey was included. Prussia and Spain were not parties 
to it. The Peace oi Amiens, m-^-de \\\t\\ England (1802), ended the contest 
following it. The Third Coalition was formed in 1805, by England, Russia, 
Austria, and Sweden. Peace was concluded between Austria and France 
(Dec. 26, 1805). War followed in 1S06-7, between France on one side, and 
Prussia and Russia on the other. These allies, with England, made a. Fourth. 



536 MODERN HISTORY. 

Coalition. In 1807 France and Russia were allies. The rupture between 
Austria and France in 1S09 gave rise to what is often called the Fifth Coali- 
tion. In 1813 the Sixth Coalition, made up, after the accession of Austria, 
of all the principal powers, was in arms against France. On March 25, 
3815, after Napoleon's return from Elba, the powers again declared war 
against him. As there was a fresh treaty, this may be called a Seventh 
Coalition. 



CHAPTER VI. 
AMERICAN HISTORY IN THIS PERIOD (1789-1815). 

The Two Parties. — The cabinet of Washington consisted of 
four members. The secretary of the treasury was Alexander 
Hamilton of New York. The secretary of state was Thomas Jef- 
ferson of Virginia. The seat of government was placed at Phil- 
adelphia ; but in 1 800 it was removed to the District of Cohtvibia, 
which was ceded for the purpose by Virginia and Maryland. 
Almost from the beginning, there were two poHtical parties. The 
Federalists were made up of those who had been most in favor 
of the new Constitution, and desired to build up a strong central 
government. Accordingly they advocated a liberal construction of 
the Constitution as regards the extent of federal authority. They 
cherished the traditional spirit of the English laws and English 
poUtical institutions. Washington and John Adams belonged to 
this class, and Hamilton was their most active leader. The Aiiti- 
Federalists, of whom Jefferso7i was the chief, were for a careful 
guarding of the rights of the States, and a strict interpretation of 
the powers allotted to the General Government. They had more 
sympathy with the political ideas at that time fast coming into 
vogue in France. They had a warm faith in the capacity of the 
mass of the people for self-government and for suffrage. They 
were called Repttblicans, and were sometimes styled Democrats. 

Hamilton's Measures: the Conflict of Parties. — Ha?)iilton pro- 
posed and carried highly important measures for the restoration 
of public credit and for the revival of industry and commerce. 
Under his leadership, the debts of the old confederacy, and the 
debts of the separate States which they had incurred in the com- 
mon defense, were assumed. To provide revenue, a protective 
tariff and a system of internal taxation were ordained. A national 
bank was incorporated (1791), and a mint was established at 
Philadelphia. These measures had a great effect at home, and 
made a strong impression favorable to the new government abroad ; 
but they were opposed by the Anti-Federalists as an unwarrant- 
able assumption of power by the General Government. The excise 
on domestic spirits provoked an insurrection, called " the Whisky 
Rebellion," in Western Pennsylvania, which was put down by the 



THE UNITED STATES. 537 

militia. As the French Revolution advanced from step to step, 
the division of parties in America became more marked, and their 
mutual hostility more intense. At first all were in sympathy with 
France. La Fayette sent the key of the fallen Bastille as a gift to 
Washington. But the Federalists were determined to maintain 
a strict neutrality in the conflict between France and England. 
As the Revolution proceeded, a strong antipathy was awakened in 
America to the radical theories, as well as to the bloody deeds, 
of its promoters. This was enhanced by the strenuous efforts of 
the French Repubhc, aided by the Anti- Federalists, to induce the 
United States to take an active part in the war, on the side of 
France. Genet, the French minister, undertook to fit out priva- 
teers in Charleston. Washington issued a proclamation of neu- 
trality (1793), which was followed by a Neutrality Act of Congress 
(1794). When Genet\vdA the effrontery to appeal from the Presi- 
dent to the people, at the demand of Washington he was recalled. 

Jay's Treaty. — The contest of parties reached its climax in 
connection with Jay's Treaty with Great Britain (1794), — a 
treaty negotiated by John Jay, chief justice, whom Washington 
had sent as envoy to London. There were mutual grounds of 
complaint between the two countries. The British had not sur- 
rendered the Western military posts, and were in the habit of 
"impressmg seamen." This last practice was founded on the 
claim that a British subject can never become the subject of 
another country, and that, moreover, his military service may . 
be always called for by his sovereign. When almost all Europe 
was at. war, the carrying trade naturally fell, to a large extent, 
into American hands ; hence, it was alleged, many English sailors 
deserted to get employment in American ships. The British 
claimed and exercised the right to visit foreign vessels, and to 
take from their decks the sailors who were asserted to be British 
subjects. The English, on their part, complained that the treaty 
stipulations as to debts due in America to British subjects had not 
been observed. Jay's Treaty provided for the giving-up of the 
Western posts, according to the previous stipulation ; but said 
nothing respecting tlie right of impressment, which the British 
at that time would never have consented to relinquish. It was 
alleged, also, that in other features the treaty favored England 
unwarrantably, and unfairly in relation to France. It encountered 
violent opposition from the Republicans ; but it was approved by 
Washington, and the legislative measures for carrying it out were 
passed in the House of Representatives by a slender majority, 
obtained through the eloquence of Fisher Ames, a member from 
Massachusetts. 

New States: Inventions. — According to the census of 1790, 
there were somewhat less than four millions of people in the 



538 MODERN HISTORY. 

United States. Virginia was the most populous State ; next to 
Virginia stood Pennsylvania, then North Carolina, and, fourth in 
order, Massachusetts. A httle more than one-fifth of the popula- 
tion were negro slaves. Vermont, the territory of which had been 
claimed by both New York and New Hampshire, was the first new 
State admitted to the Union (1791). A genius for mechanical 
invention early manifested itself in the country. Eli Whitney in- 
vented the cotton-gin (1792), for separating the seed from the 
fiber of the cotton-plant, — a machine which indirectly lent a 
powerful impulse to the production of cotton. In 1788 John 
Fitch was running a steamboat on the Delaware River ; but the 
construction of a steamboat with side-paddles was due to the in- 
ventive talent of Robert Fulton (1807). Emigration from the 
Atlantic border to the West took three principal routes, — one 
from New England and New York, through the valley of the 
Mohawk ; the second, through the passes of the AUeghanies ; 
and the third, across the Blue Ridge to the rivers flowing from 
the south into the Ohio. In 1792 Kentucky, settled mainly by 
emigrants over the last-mentioned path, was made a State. The 
next State to be admitted was Ten?iessee (1796). The new setders 
carried into the West the spirit and institutions of the several com- 
munities which they had left. South of the Ohio, negro slavery 
was introduced. A treaty with Spain (in 1795) secured the free 
navigation of the Mississippi. 

Washington's Retirement and Death. — Washington himself 
was not exempt from bitter partisan attack in public prints. On 
his retirement from office, he prepared, with the assistance of 
Hamilton, a Farewell Address to the people, in which he exhorted 
them to maintain the Union as the only safeguard of liberty, and 
warned them against "entangling alUances" with European powers. 
The deep and universal sorrow which was felt when he died (1799) 
was a tribute as exalted as any nation ever paid to a fallen hero 
and benefactor. 

Adams: Rupture of the Federal Party. — John Adams, a Fed- 
eralist, succeeded Washington as president ; axid Jefferso?i became 
vice-president (1797). The French had seized a large number of 
American vessels, on the pretense that they were affording aid to 
England. In order, if possible, to prevent war, the President sent 
out a special mission to France ; but the commissioners — Pinckney, 
Gerry, and Marshall — were told by the Directory that they must 
pay money as a bribe before they could be received, and were 
finally ordered to quit the country ( 1 79 7) . The phrase of Pinckney, 
" MiUions for defense, but not one cent for tribute," expressed 
the universal feeling. The report of the insulted envoys roused the 
indignation of the American people, and moved Congress to pre- 
pare for war. Washington was made general of all the forces to 



THE UNITED STATES. 539 

he raised and he appointed Hamilton to be second in command 
Sost mtfes Sad really commenced ; the Federahsts were eager for 
f Scla 5 ion of war ; but President Adams, without the knowl- 
edge of his cabinet, suddenly nominated to the senate another 
ambassador to France. He had previously become assured that 
:^STmtsenger would be well received Napoleo^. havmg com 
into DOwer a treaty was concluded with him (1800). ihe course 
of the President however, gave mortal offense to the adherents of 
It/z'^atTfatally diviled the Federal Party- H-ilt^ 
his supporters became wholly alienated froni^./.^//^^, so that the 
triumoh of the Republicans was rendered certain. 

Resolutions of ■98." -The violence of the attacks upon the 
admfni tratbn wh ch were made partly by foreign emissaries had 
:ld the Federalists (1798) to pass the .-^-'-^^ -^f ^^^^ v 
The first authorized the President to order out of the country 
Il^ns 4o werconspiri^ against its peace. Its operation was 
Um Jd o two years. The second punished seditious libels upon 
the government with fine and imprisonment. These acts provoked 
.storm of opposition. Under the auspices oi Jefferson and of 
y;r.:lr:L now one of his supporters, t^^e^^^^^^^^^^ 
Kentucky Fesolutions of 1 798-99 were Pf ^^^ ^j the Leg slatu es o^ 
those States. These resolves affirmed the ^ght of a Stote to judge 
of the constitutionality and validity of an Act of Congress ihey 
were interpreted as an assertion of the extreme doctime of State 

"fehase of Louisiana. -In 1800 Jefferson was elected to the 
prfs^ency, and Aaron Burr, a scheming pobtician of the Repub- 
lican school, was made vice-president. 

A „r,t;i tV,p nnendment of the Constitution (1804), the 

or the v.ce-^re«de„cy Te^.LTand But. had an equal number, the choice 
Src^Smt; .h^'.ig"3°office ..as made b, .he House of Rep.esenta- 
tives. 

The obnoxious laws of the preceding administration disapp^^^^^^^^^ 
with it One of the most important events under Jefferson s ad- 
ministmtion was the purchase of Louisiana from France, which 
had a qu^d ?t from^Spain. Napoleon knew that he -uM «f 
keepTt from faUing into the hands of England, and readily sold it 
for fifteen millions of dollars. Thereby the territory of the United 
States was doubled in its extent. The whole region between th 
Mi.^issiDPi and the Rocky Mountains, with New Orleans, was 
SrrtV: country, together with whatever claim Fr..ce had to 
West Florida, Texas, and the district west of the Ro^ky Moun 
tains Ohio, composed of the south-eastern portion of the north 
west territory, was admitted to the Union m 1803. 



540 MODERN HISTORY. 

In the first fifteen years after the government was organized, there are 
four things that affected powerfully the character and career of the United 
States. The first was the influence of Waskingion in inspiring attachment 
to the Union. The second was the genius of Hamilton in creating an efficient 
administration of the new civil polity. The third was the democratic politi- 
cal tendency fostered by Jefferson. The fourth was the vast expansion of 
the national territory by the Louisiana Purchase, insuring the extension of the 
Unioti, and preventing the rise of rival political communities in its neighbor- 
hood. 

War with the Algerines. — The pirates of Algiers, Morocco, 
and the other Barbary States, demanded tribute of American ves- 
sels on the Mediterranean. The first exploits of the navy of the 
United States were in combats with these marauders (i 80 1-5). 
Decatur performed the exploit of burning in the harbor of Tripoli 
the American ship Philadelphia, which the Tripolitans had cap- 
tured (1804). Dej-ne was captured, and Tripoli bombarded. 
Finally a treaty put an end to the exaction of tribute (1805). 

An event that deeply moved the whole country was the killing of Hamil- 
ilton by BiLrr in a duel (1804). Bicrr was afterwards charged with an inten- 
tion to form a new government on the south-western borders of the United 
States. He was tried for treason (1807), and not convicted, although many 
have believed him to be guilty. 

Causes of the War of 1812-15. — The great European wars 
brought the United States into serious difficulties, principally in 
regard to questions relating to commerce. Attempts were made 
by the European nations to establish blockades by mere enact- 
ment, without actual and sufficient occupation of the ports which 
were declared to be closed. The tendency of the British Orders 
in council, and of Napoleon's ^^r/z>?. and Milan Decrees (p. 528), 
was " to grind to pieces the few remaining neutral powers." These 
were in effect cut off from trade with both Continental and English 
ports by the ordinances of one or the other of the two beUigerents, 
the penalty being the confiscation of the vessels employed in 
such trai^c. Such were the restrictions upon neutrals, that a 
great number of American ships were seized and confiscated by 
English and French cruisers. In addition to these grievances, the 
Leander, a British ship, exercised the pretended right of impress- 
ment by firing on an American trading-sloop (1806) ; and in 
like manner another British vessel, the Leopard, fired on the 
frigate Chesapeake, which was not prepared for resistance, and 
took four men from its crew (June 22, 1807). In retaliation, 
Jefferson ordered all British ships of war to leave the coast of the 
Ijnited States. Then followed the Embargo, embracing a succes- 
sion of enactments of Congress, which forbade American vessels 
to leave the harbors of the United States for Europe, and forbade 
European vessels to land cargoes in American ports. The result 
of this measure was to smite American commerce with an utter 



THE UNITED STATES. 541 

paralysis. The ships rotted at the wharves. The unpopularity of 
the Embargo, especially in the Eastern commercial States, was 
such that in Jefferson's second term it was repealed. It was fol- 
lowed (1809) by the Non- Intercourse Act, prohibiting commerce 
with France and England. The British Orders in Council were 
then, in a measure, relaxed, as was the practical enforcement against 
our vessels of the Berlin Decree. In 181 2, the French rescinded 
their obnoxious decrees ; and the English immediately took the same 
step, but not soon enough to prevent a war with the United States. 
Events of the War in 1812 and 1813. — James Madison, a 
wise and moderate statesman of the Republican party, became 
president in 1809. He was personally averse to engaging in war 
with Great Britain ; but the exasperation of a large part of the 
country, and the pressure of the younger leaders of his party, — 
Calhoun, Clay, and Lowndes, — moved him to a reluctant consent. 
The war, which was declared in 181 2, was bitterly opposed in the 
New-England States, where the strength of the Federalists chiefly 
lay. By them the real motive of it was considered to be partiality 
for France. The treasury was nearly empty ; there were but few 
ships of war' and only a small land force of about ten thousand 
men, made up in part of raw recruits. Before this time, the 
North-westeru Indians, under Tecuniseh, whom the British were 
suspected of inciting to war, had been defeated at Tippecanoe 
(181 1), by William Henry Hanison, governor of Indiana. The 
war with England opened inauspiciously with the surrender of 
Detroit by Gen. William Hull to Gen. Brock (Aug. 16, 18 12), 
and an unsuccessful attempt to invade Canada at Queenstown. 
On the sea, however, the Americans had successes which filled 
them with pride and exultation. Captain Isaac Hull, of the frigate 
Constitution, captured the British frigate Guerriere, and brought 
his prisoners to Boston. Decatur, captain of iheUnited States, 
brought the Macedonian as a prize into the harbor of New York. 
The Constitution destroyed the Java ; but the Chesapeake, whose 
captain was killed, surrendered to the Shannon. Privateers were 
fitted out, which captured several hundreds of British ships and 
several thousands of prisoners. In 18 13 Perry defeated the 
English fleet on Lake Erie. His victory gave the Americans the 
com.mand of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan. Harrison defeated 
the British and Indians, — who had been driven to abandon 
Michigan, — near the River Thames in Canada. Except on the 
Lakes the navy was successful only in single ship actions. The 
Americans had taken possession of Mobile, which they as well as 
the Spanish claimed ; but the Creek Indians were incite4 by the 
Spaniards to engage in hostilities. Forces from Tennessee, under 
Andrew Jackson, and troops from Georgia and Mississippi, fought 
the Creeks with success. 



542 MODERN HISTORY. 

The "War in 1814-15. — In 1014 a third attempt of the Ameri- 
cans under Gen. Brown, to invade Canada, produced no decisive 
result. There was hard fighting. The British were routed at Chip- 
pewa ; and they were repulsed at Limdy's Lane, opposite Niagara 
Falls, by Lieut, (afterwards General) Winfield Scott. Napoleon had 
now been defeated ; and the English sent twelve thousand troops, 
who had served under Wellington in Spain, to Canada, to invade 
the United States from the north, while another army was to make 
an invasion by way of New Orleans. A fleet under Admiral Cock- 
burn sailed up the Potomac, and burned the Capitol and other 
pubhc buildings at Washington (Aug. 24, 1814). An attack was 
made on Baltimore by a British fleet, but was bravely repelled. 
The defeat of the British fleet near Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain, 
by Commodore Macdonough (Sept. 11, 1814), resulted in the 
retreat of the British army, which was besieging that place, 
to Canada. New Orleans was defended by G&ViQX2\ Jackson. The 
British under Pakenhani and Gibbs attacked his works, but were 
defeated and withdrew (Jan. 8, 18 15). The town was protected 
from the approach of the English fleet by the fort.^ Before the 
battle, peace had been concluded, but the news had not reached 
this country. 

The Hartford Convention. — The antagonism to the war in the New 

England States found expression in the call of a convention at Hartfo7-d, 
where their delegates met (Dec. 15, 1814). These States complained, that 
while their commerce and fisheries were ruined, there was no protection 
afforded to their sea-coast. Stonington in Connecticut had been bombarded, 
and Castine in Maine had been captured. They denied, also, that the Gen- 
eral Government had the power over the State militia which it claimed. For 
these and other grievances, they sought for a remedy " not repugnant to 
their obligations as members of the Union." They declared that measures 
of the General Government which are palpable violations of the Constitution 
are void, and that the States injuriously affected might severally protect their 
citizens from the operation of them, by such means as the several States 
should judge it wise to adopt ; but they disavowed the right or intent to break 
up the Union. The effect of the convention was to bring great popular dis- 
credit on the Federalists, and to seal their doom as a distinct party. 

Treaty of Peace : Algiers. — In the Treaty of Ghent (Dec. 24, 
1814), provisions were made for defining boundaries as settled by 
previous treaties, and an engagement was made on both sides to 
suppress the slave-trade ; but no mention was made of maritime 
rights and the impressment of seamen. This last practice was, 
however, discontinued, although it was never renounced. The war 
left the disputes that caused it just where they were. Many then 
and since have regarded it as really undertaken by the dominant 
party in the United States, in order to help one of the belligerents 
in the great struggle then going forward between England and 
France. Whether this view be just, or not, it is certain that the 
war imparted to Americans the consciousness of power and nation- 



LITERATURE, ART, AND SCIENCE. 543 

ality. The connection between America and Great Britain was 
broken off at the Revolution, because, as Turgot once said, colo- 
nies are like fruits which only stay on the tree until they are ripe. 
But the conflict was not over at the conclusion of the Peace of 
1783. Bancroft has called the war of 181 2-15 "the second war 
of independence." Nothing lent it this character so much as the 
naval victories won by the United States, which gave them a stand- 
ing among the nations. In 1815 a squadron under /?<?(:« A/r was 
sent to Algiers, and the Barbary States were compelled to give up 
by treaties all their demands. 



CHAPTER VII. 

LITERATURE, ART, AND SCIENCE (1789-1815). 

New Spirit in Literature. — In the latter part of the eighteenth 
and the early part of the nineteenth centuries, literature broke away 
from the artificial rules and the one-sided intellectual tone of the 
"classical" school, — that school which had prevailed through 
the influence of the French writers of the age of Louis XIV. 
The new era was marked by more spontaneity, and a return to 
nature, and by a more free rein given to imagination and feeling. 
" Romanticism," a general designation of the results of this new 
movement as contrasted with the "classical" period, sometimes 
ran out into extravagances of sentiment, and an exaggerated relish 
for the mediaeval spirit. 

Writers in Italy and in France. — In Italy, there were few writers 
of distinction. Monti (1754-1S2S) was a poet full of harmony and elegance, 
a follower, but with unequal steps, of Alfie7-i. Another of the same school 
is the patriotic poet, Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827), a master of his native tongue._ 
The poems of Pindemonte (1753-1828) are graceful and pathetic. Leopardi 
(1798-1837) mingles sublimity with pathos. Of the Italian historians of this 
period, Botta (i 766-1837), who published a history of the American Revolu- 
tion, and histories of Italy, is a clear writer, with a talent for vivid descrip- 
tion. In France, Ckateaicbriand (1768-1848), who figured both in political 
life and as a prolific and brilliant author, by his Genhis of Christianity and 
many other productions gained great celebrity, —more, however, by charms 
of style and sentiment, than by weight of matter. Madame de Stael (1766- 
1817) was the daughter of Necker. Between her and Napoleon there was a 
mutual hostility. She wrote Corinne, Delphine, — " in which she idealizes her- 
self," — a work on Germany., and various other productions. She was versa- 
tile, vigorous in thought, and humane in her temper and spirit. In philosophy, 
a believing and spiritual school, in opposition to materialism, was founded 
by Maine de Biran (1766-1S24), Royer-Collard (1763-1846), and Benjamin 
Cimstant. De Maistre (1754-1821) wrote ably on the side of authority and of 
the Catholic Church. 

English Poetry. — Literature in England, especially in the department 
of poetry, casting off the trammels of the classical school, in which Dryden 
and Pope were foremost, entered on a new and splendid era. Whether it 



544 MODERN HISTORY. 

dwelt on external nature or human passions and experiences, it appealed to 
sensibility. It was no more exclusively, or in the main, an address to the 
understanding. Cowper (1731-1800) set the example of genuine naturalness, 
and of interest in nature and in every-day life. Robert Burns, a Scottish 
peasant (i 759-1 796), by his wonderful union of tenderness, passion, and 
humor, with poetic fancy and simplicity of diction, was more than the poet 
of a single nation. Wordsworth (i 770-1850) blended in his poems a delight 
in rural and mountain scenery, with a deep vein of pensive thought and sen- 
timent. If he wrote dull pages, even the severest critics allow that in The 
Exacrsion there are most beautiful " oases in the desert ; " while in such poems 
as the Ode on the Power of Sound, the Intimations of Immortality from the 
Recollections of Childhood, and Laodaniia, there are passages not excelled 
since Milton. A more sustained fervor of feeling and imagination belonged 
to Byron (1788-1824), who, notwithstanding his morbid egotism and offenses 
against morality, combined passion with beauty, and was never dull. Wal- 
ter Scott (1771-1832) exhibited in his narrative poems the spirit of the roman- 
tic school, with none of its sentimentality or extravagance. Coleridge (1772- 
1S34), the author of Christabel diwA The Attcient Alariner, was a highly origi- 
nal poet, as well as a philosopher. Southey (1774-1843), with less genius, was 
a man of letters, prolific both in verse and in prose. Shelley and Keats had 
a much higher gift of imagination. Cajnpbell, Rogers, and Moore are names of 
distinction, although less illustrious than those of Wordsworth and Coleridge, 
Scott and Byro>i. Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864), a poet and the author 
of Imaginary Conversations, and other prose writings, was master of a style 
of extraordinary power and purity. 

English Prose Writers. — In novel-writing, Miss Austen, Miss Porter, 
and Miss Edgeworth preceded Walter Scott. Waverley, the first in the series 
of Scott's novels, appeared anonymously in 1814. In 1802 the Edi7iburgh 
Review, the first of the noted critical quarterlies, began its existence, under 
the editorship of Francis Jeffrey, and numbered among its writers Brougham, 
Sydney Smith, and Sir James Mackintosh. In 1809 the Quarterly Review, 
the organ of the Tories as the Edinburgh Review represented the Whigs, 
began, with Gifford for its editor. Among the essayists of that time, in a 
lighter vein, were John Wilson ( " Christopher North " ), poet and critic in 
one; and the genial humorist, the friend of Wordsworth and Coleridge, 
Charles Lamb. John Foster (1770-1843) was an original essayist on grave" 
themes. In philosophy, Dugald Stewart (1753-1828), a clear and fluent ex- 
positor, and Thomas Brozvn (1778-1821), kept up the reputation of the Scot- 
tish school founded by Reid. Burke, Alison, and Jeffrey wrote on beauty, 
and on the taste for the beautiful. Mackintosh, a statesman of liberal opin- 
ions, wrote on ethics. Coleridge, inspired by the German thinkers Kant and 
Schelling, through his philosophical fragments and theological essays did 
much to create a new current in English philosophical and religious thought. 
Jereviy Benthatji (1748-1832) was less eminent as a metaphysician than as a 
contributor, through his writings, to legislative reform. 

American Writers. — In America, the political writings of Adams, 
Jefferson, Hatnilton, Jay, Madison, Marshall, and Ames, have a permanent 
value. Their letters and the letters of Washington are written in clear and 
manly English. Lindley Murray (1745-1826) published (1795) an English 
Grammar, which superseded all others. In theology, there were a number 
of vigorous thinkers and writers, such as the younger President Edwards, 
Satnuel Hopkins, Bellamy, Emmons, J. M. Mason, and Dzvight. Dwighfs 
System of Theology was much read in England and Scotland. Belles-lettres 
literature in America was in its infancy. There was a triad of poets, — Trum- 
bull', a humorous writer (1750-1831), Joel Barhnu (1755-1812], and Dwight 
(1752-1817); all of them survivors of the school of Pope. Their patriotic 
feeling was their chief merit, but Barlow and Dwight each wrote one excel- 
lent hymn. 



LITERATURE, ART, AND SCIENCE. 545 

German Authors. — One of the most versatile and stimulating of Ger- 
man writers was Herder (1744-1803). Full of imagination and spirit, he 
made his quickening influence felt as a theologian, critic, philosopher, and 
philologist. His name is in some measure eclipsed by the fame of his two 
great associates at Weimar, Goethe {1749-1832) and Schiller (1759-1805). By 
the universality of his genius, which was equally exalted in the sphere of criti- 
cism and of original production, Goethe is, by common consent, the foremost 
of German authors. His dramas, especially Tasso, Eg7noiit, and Faust, and 
his pastoral epic, Hermann and Dorothea, are the most celebrated of his 
poems ; but many of his minor pieces are marked by exquisite harmony and 
beauty. Schiller, with less repose and a less profound artistic feeling, yet 
from his humane impulses and fire of emotion stands closer to the popular 
heart. Korner (i79:-i8i3), and Arndt (1769-1860), the author of the song, 
" Where is the German's Fatherland," were patriotic lyrists of high merit. 
^/;/<7«^ (17S7-1S62) is a ballad-writer, not surpassed in this species of com- 
position by any of his contemporaries. The " Romantic School," with its 
predilection for the Middle Ages, included Novalis, Tieck, and also the two 
brothers Schlegel, who were critics rather than poets. One of the most unique 
and original of the German writers was Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825), 
essentially a philosopher and moralist, yet with a pervading element of humor 
and pathos. 

German Philosophy. — In philosophy, the first name in the order of 
time and of merit is that of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). The Critique of 
Pure Reason is the most important of his productions. He showed, against 
Hunie, that the ideas of cause, substance, self, etc., are not products of ima- 
gination, or due to a mere custom of thought, but are from within, and are 
necessary and universal. In the Critique of the Practical Reason he found the 
real basis of faith in God, free-will, and immortality, in our moral nature. On 
all the topics which he treated, he was both earnest and profound. On the 
basis of a portion of his teaching, subsequent speculative philosophers reared 
a system of idealism and pantheism. Of these, the most celebrated are Fichte 
(1762-1814), who held that the world external to the mind has no existence; 
Schelling (1775-1854), who taught that nature and mind are at bottom one 
and the same substance, in different manifestations; and i%^-^/ (1770-183 1), 
who resolved all being into a realm of ideas, a self-existent and self-develop- 
ing thought-world. 

Among the numerous writers in other departments in this period, the 
brothers Alexander von Humboldt znd William von Humboldt were eminent, — 
the former in natural science and as an explorer; the latter in political 
science, criticism, and philology. 

Painting and Sculpture. — In Italy, a great sculptor — the greatest 
since Michael Angela — appeared in the person of Canova (1757-1822) ; who, 
however, was equaled by an Englishman, fohn Flaxnian (1755-1826). An 
eminent follower of Canova was Thorwaldsen (1770-1844), a Dane. Dan- 
necker, a German sculptor ( 1758-1844), excelled in portrait statues. Another 
German sculptor, the founder of a school, was Ranch (1774-1857), whose 
statues are faithful, yet idealized, likenesses. A famous French painter in 
this period was David, whose pictures, in the classic style, lack force and 
warmth. Many of his scholars attained to high proficiency in the art. Horace 
Vernet (1789-1863) and Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) chose their subjects from 
modern European history. The modern German school of painting was 
founded by Overbeck, Von Schadow, and Cornelius. The greatest English 
painter after Hogarth was Sir foshua Reynolds (1723-1792), whose portraits 
have seldom, if ever, been surpassed. Almost or quite on a level with him 
was Gainsborough (1727-1788). Benjamin West (1738-1820) was by birth an 
American, as was Copley, an artist of superior talents (1739-1S15). Lawrence 
(1769-1830) was a British painter whose portraits have a high historical value 
The greatest of the English landscape painters was Turner (1775-1S51). 



546 MODERN HISTORY. 

Johii T7-2imbidl (1756-1843), an American, painted spirited battle-pieces, and 
miniature portraits of decided artistic merit. Washington Allsto/i (1779-1843), 
another American painter, produced works admired for their warmth of 
color, and for the refined feeling expressed in them. 

Music. — The great German musicians Haydn and Mozart were followed 
by an equal or greater genius in music, Beetho-oeji (1770-1827). At the head 
of the school of German song-writers is Schubert (i 797-1 828). One of the 
most popular of the German composers was Weber (1786-1826). 

Physical and Natural Science. — The most brilliant discoveries in 
astronomy were made by the French philosopher Laplace, whose Mecanique 
Celeste made an epoch in that science. Dr. Tliomas Young (i 773-1829) did 
much to explain the true theory of the tides, and to confirm the undulatory 
theory of light. Others eminent in the progress of optics are Fresnel (1788- 
\%2']), Biot, Arago, — all French physicists, — and Sir David Brewster. La- 
voisier (1743-1794) infused a new spirit into chemical science. Priestley 
( 1 733-1804) discovered oxygen and other gases. Dalton (i 766-1844) is the 
author of the atomic theory of the composition of matter. Sir Humphry 
Davy added to chemical knowledge, and, simultaneously with George Stephen- 
soji, invented the safety-lamp for miners. Berzelius (i 779-1848), a Swedish 
chemist, and Gay-Lussac (1778-1850), a Frenchman, are great names in the 
history of this science. Galvani, the discoverer of animal electricity, and Volta, 
the inventor of the galvanic pile, stimulated others to fruitful experiments 
in this branch of study. Lamarck (1744-1829) was one of the first of the 
modern advocates of the origin of species by development. Cuvier (1769- 
1832), the greatest naturalist of modern times, made most important obser- 
vations in comparative anatomy, and "established many of the positive laws 
of geology and paleontology." Geology first assumed the place of a science 
through the labors of Werner (1750-1S17), a German mineralogist. There 
were two classes of geologists, — the Neptunians, or Wernerians, who as- 
cribed rocks to aqueous deposition exclusively; and the Vulcanians, or 
Hiittonists, — adherents of the view of Dr. Hutton (1726-1797) of Edinburgh, 
— who attributed many of them to the action of fire. The Geological Society 
of London was founded in 1807. Among discoveries of practical utility in 
science, the discovery of vaccination for the prevention of small-pox, by 
yenner (1749- 1823), an English physician, is one of the most remarkable. 

Literature: See the lists on pp. i5, 359, 497; also President A. D. White's list, with criti- 
cal notes, attached to Morris's The French Revolntion and First Evipire (in " Epochs of 
History"), and Adams's Manual; the Histories of Alison (Tory), Louis Blanc, Car- 
LYLE, JoMiNi, Fyfie, Stephens, Mahan, Chuquet. Aulard, Lavisse et Rambaud, Histoire 
Generate VHI., IX. jMichblet (7 vols), Mignet, Morris, Von Sybel (4 vols.), Thiers, 
Taine, L. Hausser; Madame de Remusat's Memoirs; Metternich's Memoirs (,5 vols.); 
Joyneville, Li/e and Times of Alexatider I. (3 vols.) ; Seelev, Life of Stein ; Lowell, 
Eve of tlie Freitcli Revolution; on Napoleon, Rose, Lanfrey, Sloane. 

De Tocqueville's L'.4?icien Regime et la Rezioltiiion ; P. Janet's Philosophie de la 
Revolution Frangaise ; Quinet, La Revolution ; The Essays on the Revolution, by Burke, 
Mackintosh, Croker; Macaulay's Essays on Mirabeau and Barere; Lamartine's The Giron- 
dists; A. Young's Travels in France in 1787-8S-SQ (London, 1794' : Oncken, Das Zeitalter 
der Revolution des Kaiserreiches (2 vols.) ; Sorel, L' Europe et la RHwlntion Franqaise 
(S vols.); Debidour, Rapports de V Eglise et de I'Etat en E'rattce; VanAaX, Napoleon 
et Alexandre !>'''. Treitschke Deutsche Gesdiichtc iin neunzehnteti fahrliundert (4 vols.). 

Taine, History of English Literature ; Mrs. Oliphant, Literary History of England 
in the end of ttie iSt/i and beginning of the iqth centuries ; Allibone, Dictionary of 
British and American Authors; Wendell, A Literary History of America. 



THE RECENT PERIOD. 547 



Period V. 

FROM THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA (1815) TO THE 
PRESENT TIME. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Political Changes in Europe. — The aspiration of the peoples 
of Europe after constitutional freedom and national unity, after the 
yoke of Napoleon had been thrown off, was for a long season 
baffled. This was owing partly to the lassitude natural after the 
protracted and exhausting wars, and more to the combination of 
the principal sovereigns, instigated by the love of power and the 
dread of revolution, for the purpose of preventing the popular 
yearning from being gratified. But in 1830 — when half of the 
lifetime of a generation had 'passed by — the overthrow of the old 
Bourbon line of kings in France was the signal for disturbances 
and changes elsewhere on the Continent. In England, at about 
the same time, there began an era of constitutional and legislative 
reforms which effected a wider diffusion of poUtical power. In 
1848 — after a second interval of about equal length — another 
revolutionary crisis occurred. At the same time, movements in 
favor of communism and socialism brought in a new peril. Alarm 
felt on this account, by the middle class in France, was one im- 
portant aid to the third Napoleon in reviving the empire in France. 
The condition of Europe — in particular, the divided state of Ger- 
many — enabled him to maintain a leading influence for a score 
of years in European politics. The unification of Germany, which 
began in the triumph of Prussia over Austria, was completed in 
Napoleon'' s downfall through the Franco- German war. The uni- 
fication of Italy, to which Louis Napoleon had contributed by the 
French alliance with Sardinia against Austria, was consummated 
under Victor Emmanuel, after his cooperation with Prussia in her 
great struggle with Austria. Thus Germany and Italy reached 
the goal to which they had looked with desire and hope at the 
close of the Napoleonic wars in 18 15. 

America. — On the Western Continent, Mexico and the South- 
American dependencies of Spain and Portugal gained their inde- 
pendence in connection with political revolutions in the European 



548 'modern history. 

countries to which they had been attached. The Ufiited States, 
in the enjoyment of peace, and favored by great material advan- 
tages, advanced with marvelous rapidity in population and in 
wealth. Discord, growing out of the existence of negro slavery 
in the South, brought on at last the Civil War, which terminated in 
the conquest of the Confederate States and their restoration to 
the Union, in the freedom of the slaves, and in the prohibition of 
slavery by Constitutional amendment. 

Military System in Europe. — During this period, in Europe 
there has been a wide diffusion of popular education. But a 
serious hinderance in the way of physical comfort and general 
improvement in the principal European states has long existed, 
in the immense standing armies and costly military system which 
their mutual jealousies and apprehensions have caused them to 
keep up. 

Science and Invention. — This period outstrips all previous 
eras as regards the progress of the natural and physical sciences, 
and of invention and discovery in the practical applications of 
science. An almost miraculous advance has taken place in the 
means of travel and of transmitting thought. There has been an 
equally marvelous advance in devising machinery for use in agri- 
culture and manufactures, and in connection with labor of almost 
every sort. 

Peace and Philanthropy. — The vast extension of commerce, 
with its interchange of products, and the intercourse which is 
incidental to it, has proved favorable to international peace. The 
better understanding of economical science, by bringing to view 
the mischiefs of war and the bad policy of selfishness, has tended 
in the same direction. Philanthropy has manifested itself with 
new energy and in new forms of activity. A quickened and more 
enlightened zeal has been shown in providing for the infirm and 
helpless, and for mitigating the sufferings of the soldier. Mis- 
sionary undertakings, for the conversion and civilizing of heathen 
nations, have been a marked feature of the age. 

Socialism. — The "industrial age" had its own perils to con- 
front. The progress of manufactures and trade, the accumulation 
of wealth unequally distributed, brought forward new questions 
pertaining to the rights and reciprocal aggressions of laborer and 
capitalist. Socialism, with novel and startling doctrines as to the 
right of property, and to the proper function of the state, inau- 
gurated movements of grave concern to the order and well-being 
of society. 



GERMANY: THE HOLY ALLIANCE. 549 



CHAPTER L 

EUROPE, FROM THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA (1815) TO THE 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1830. 

Germany : the Holy Alliance. — The years of peace which fol- 
lowed the War of Liberation produced a signal increase of thrift 
and of culture in Germany. But they brought also a grievous 
disappointment of ardent political hopes. There was a feeling of 
national brotherhood, which that struggle had engendered, — such 
a feeling as Germans had not experienced for centuries before. 
Constitutional government and German unity were objects of 
earnest desire. Frederick William III., the king of Prussia (i 797- 
1840), had promised his people a constitution. But the two em- 
perors, Francis I. of Austria and Alexander of Russia, together 
with Frederick William, had, at the instigation of Alexander, — 
whose mind was tinged with religious mysticism, — formed at Paris 
(Sept. 26, 1815) "the Holy Alliance,''^ a covenant in which they 
pledged themselves, in dealing with their subjects and in their 
international relations, to be governed by the rules of Christian jus- 
tice and charity. They invited all the potentates of Europe, except 
the Sultan and the Pope, to become parties to this sacred compact. 
With the exception of George IV., the Prince Regent of England, 
the sovereigns complied with the request. This alliance, which 
was sincerely meant by Alexander, was popularly confused with 
the alliance of Austria, Russia, Prussia, England, and France, 
the aim of which v/as to prevent further revolutions. Frajtcis I., 
who lived until 1835, ^^s stubbornly averse to every movement 
that in the least favored popular freedom and constitutional 
government. Supreme in his counsels for a whole generation was 
Metternich, not a profound statesman, but an expert diplomatist, 
who labored, generally with success, to stifle every effort for an in- 
crease of freedom in Germany, and elsewhere on the Continent. 
In the smaller German states, especially those which had belonged 
to the Confederacy of the Rhine, there was a disposition to found 
a constitutional system ; but the Prussian government followed in 
the wake of Austria, and Austria stood in the way of every such 
innovation. 

Agitation and Reaction. — The agitation for liberty was spe- 
cially rife among the students in the German universities. A 
demonstration by them at the Wa7'tburg (181 7), in commemora- 
tion of Luther and of the victory over Napoleon at Leipsic, — in 
which there were songs and speeches, and a burning of anti-liberal 
books, — was noticed by the Prussian and Austrian ministers ; and 
the alleged revolutionary movements of students were denounced 
by the Emperor Alexander. This reactionary zeal was whetted by 



550 MODERN HISTORY. 

the murder of Kotzebue, a German poet, who was hated as a tool 
of Russia and a foe of hberty, and was assassinated by Karl Sand, 
a fanatical Prussian student (March 23, 1819). Young Sand was, 
executed for the deed, but his fate drew out many expressions of 
pity and sympathy. The Diet of the confederacy (Sept. 20, 1819) 
adopted what were called the Carlsbad Resolutions, which pro- 
vided for a more rigid censorship of the press, committees of 
investigation to suppress revolutionary agitation, and a strict super- 
vision of the universities by the governments. All the states were 
required to enforce these regulations. The liberal party, the party 
of freedom and unity, still subsisted, especially in the smaller states, 
where some of the princes, as William I. of lViirte?nbe?-g (1819- 
1864) and Lo7/is I. of Bavaria (1825-1848), entertained compara- 
tively liberal views. 

France under Louis XVIII. — The Congress of Aix-la- Chapelle 
(181 8) withdrew the army of occupation left by the allies in France. 
The Pentarchy, or Five Great Powers, pledged themselves to the 
continued maintenance of peace by means of conferences and con- 
gresses. Louis XVIII. (1814-1824), although inactive, was not 
void of good sense, and was disposed to accommodate himself to 
the times. But the court party, with his brother the Count d'Artois 
at its head, were unyielding in their despotic ideas. They were for 
restoring the system of the old monarchy. The increase in the 
liberal members of the Chamber, or legislative assembly, impelled 
Richelieu, the head of the ministry, to resign (Dec, 1818). A 
more liberal vi\zxi,Decazes, succeeded him. He was supported by 
a party which arose at this time, called Doctrinaires on account of 
a certain pedantic spirit, and a disposition to shape political action 
by preconceived theories or ideas, which was imputed to them. 
In their ranks were Royer- Collard, Guizot, 'Villemain , Barante, and 
others. They advocated a constitutional monarchy. Among the 
liberals not affiliated with them was La Fayette, who encouraged 
the Charbonniers, a secret society for promoting liberty, that had 
its origin in Italy. 

Tyranny in Spain. — In 1820 revolts broke out against the 
Bourbon governments in Spain and Italy. Ferdinand VII. had. 
been restored to \\\,tx\.y hy Napoleon in 1814, and had returned 
to the Spanish throne. In 181 2 the Cortes had established a con- 
stitution with a system of parliamentary government, limited pre- 
rogatives being left to the king. In favor of the new system were 
the educated and enlightened class generally. But — as was not 
the case in Germany — the uprising against Napoleon in Spain had 
owed its strength very much to the ignorant and superstitious peas- 
antry, who, while they hated the foreign yoke, clung to the feudal 
and ecclesiastical abuses which the French rulers in Spain, as far 



SOUTH AMERICA: MEXICO. 55 1 

as time and opportunity permitted, swept away. Ferdinand thus 
had a strong support in his movement to bring back the former 
bigoted and exckisive system. He wrested the national property 
from the holders to whom it had been sold. He restored the In- 
quisition : not less than fifty thousand individuals were imprisoned 
for their opinions. From his tyranny ten thousand Spaniards 
escaped into France. 

South American Independence. — The French usurpation in 
Spain cost that country its American colonies. They would not 
submit to the French sovereignty, and after its fall maintained 
their independence. Buenos Ayres broke loose from Spain in 
1 8 10, and in 18 16 joined the Plate states in a confederation. 
Paraguay declined a union with Buenos Ayres, and continued 
under the patriarchal absolutism introduced by the Jesuits, Dr. 
Francia being its ruler until his death (1840). Uruguay became 
a repubhc disdnct from Buenos Ayres in 1828. In the northern 
colonies, the principal hero of the struggle for independence was 
Simon Bolivar, who sprang from a noble Creole family. He first 
fought for the independence of Venezuela (i 810), but was made 
by New Granada its general in 181 2, and became president of the 
two countries, which were united under the name of Colombia 
(18 1 9). Quito was now taken, and Peru was set free from the 
Spanish rule. Upper Peru, in 1825, was named, in honor of the 
" Liberator," Bolivia. He found it impracticable to connect 
the different states in one confederacy, and closed his eventful life 
in 1830. Colombia divided itself into the three states, Venezuela, 
New Granada, and Ecuador (1831). 

Mexican Independence. — After the year 1808, there were 
various attempts at revolution in J/<?;t:/(r(?. In 1821 its independ- 
ence was achieved by an insurrection under Iturbide, a native 
Mexican. He failed in the effort to make himself emperor (1822) ; 
and the Republic of Mexico was organized in 1824, and was recog- 
nized by the United States in 1829. 

Military Revolt in Spain. — The loss of her American colonies, 
and the efforts to restore them, reduced Spain to extreme poverty. 
In 1820 a successful military insurrection, led by Quiroga, Riego, 
and Mina, proclaimed anew the consdtution of 181 2. Ferdinand, 
who was capable of any amount of hypocrisy as well as cruelty, 
swore to uphold it. The revolution was supported by the intelli- 
gent class of people, but the defenders of it were split into different 
parties. The clergy and the peasantry were arrayed on the other 
side. Guerilla bands were organized under the name of the " Army 
of the Faith." 

Congress ofVerona. — The military revolt in Spain alarmed 
the Great Powers. The three sovereigns were now leagued for the 
defense of " the throne and the altar ; " for Alexander, who had 



552 MODERN HISTORY. 

shown liberal inclinations on the subject of the emancipation of 
the serfs, and even towards Greece in its aspiration for independ- 
ence, now recoiled from every thing that savored of freedom. At 
the Congress of Verona (Oct., 1822), the sovereigns resolved to 
interfere in Spain. The Duke of Wellington declined to concur 
with them, and, on his return from the congress, advised Louis 
XVIII. to take the same course. 

England: Canning. — George IV. (1820-1830) had been re- 
gent since 18 10. Already unpopular, he became still more so in 
consequence of his abortive effort (1820) to procure a divorce 
from Queen Caroline, whom he had married at the demand of his 
father (1795). She was not allowed to be present at his corona- 
tion. On account of the profligacy of her husband, there was a 
strong sympathy with her, although she was a coarse-minded 
woman. For a number of years after the Peace of 1815, the 
English government resisted movements towards reform at home ; 
and in its foreign policy, under the guidance of Casllereagh, it 
sustained the reactionary cause abroad. Disaffection towards the 
ministers gave rise to a plot, contrived by some desperate men, to 
destroy them in a body. It was detected ; and Thistlewood, with 
some of his confederates, was executed (1820). On the death 
of Lord Casllereagh in 1822, Canning, a disciple of Pitt, became 
foreign secretary. He adopted a more liberal policy, and worked 
against the schemes of Metternich for interference in the affairs 
of foreign states. He transferred England, says Guizot, " from 
the camp of resistance and of European order into the camp of 
liberty." 

The Rebellion crushed in Spain. — The French unwisely re- 
jected England's advice. Louis XVIII. sent an army into Spain, 
under the Duke of Angouleme, released Ferdinand at Cadiz, and 
gave him the power to revoke all that he had done in favor of 
liberty. The brave Riego was hung on a gibbet of enormous 
height. The Spanish army was disbanded, and the " Army of the 
Faith " took its place. Many thousands of constitutionalists were 
thrown into prison. Cabining recognized the republics of South 
America, lest they, too, should fall under French control. It was 
his boast, that he " called the New World into existence to redress 
the balance of the Old." 

Portugal : Brazil. — The royal family of Portugal were residing 
in Brazil when the Spanish revolution occurred. Portugal, in the 
absence of King John VI., framed a liberal constitution. The 
Brazilians were eager for independence from Portugal. John de- 
cided to withdraw. Arrived in Portugal, he accepted the new 
constitution ; but the anti-revolutionary party rallied about his 
son Dom Miguel, who was supported by his mother, a sister of 
Ferdinand VII. of Spain. Dom Miguel was at length driven 



ITALY: GREECE. 553 

into exile, and went to Vienna. Meantime Dom Pedro, a son of 
John VI., had made himself emperor in Brazil by allying himself 
with the constitutional party ; and John was prevailed on by the 
British, in 1825, to recognize the new South American empire. 

Naples and Sicily. — In all the eight principalities of Italy, ex- 
cept in Tuscany, the misrule of the restored governments was 
galling to the people, whose hope of freedom had been raised 
only to be cast down. Everywhere the tyrannical influence of 
Austria was dominant. The rulers in Italy were slavishly submis- 
sive to her will ; and any rising of the people, if not put down by 
them, was crushed by Austrian forces sent down from Lombardy. 
Secret societies sprung up ; the chief of which, the Carbonari, 
aimed at national independence, but beyond that cherished no 
definite, united purpose. The Spanish revolution served as the 
occasion for a similar rebellion of the soldiery of Naples. A new 
liberal constitution was established, which Ferdinand IV. (July 
13, 1820) solemnly swore to maintain. The insurrection in Sicily 
aimed at independence, but Palermo was surrendered to the revo- 
lutionary government of Naples. The Neapolitan rebellion led to 
the Congress of Troppau (Oct., 1820), which was transferred 
to Laybach (Jan., 182 1). There Austria, Prussia, and Russia 
formed a league, the fruit of which was, that an Austrian army 
of sixty thousand men marched into the South of Italy, and the 
revolution was crushed. Ferdinand reestablished his despotism, 
disbanded the greater part of his army, and punished with exile, 
imprisonment, and death the leading supporters of the constitu- 
tion which he had taken an oath to defend. 

Sardinia. — In Piedmont, the demand for a constitution and 
a rising at Alessandria impelled Victor Emmanuel I. to abdicate 
in favor of his brother, Charles Felix, who was favorable to Aus- 
tria and her policy. Prince Charles Albert, — a distant cousin, — 
who had liberal views, held the regency for a few months ; but 
Charles Felix, on his return from Modena (Oct., 1821), governed 
according to despotic principles. The contest in Italy between 
" despots and conspirators " went on until the renewed outbreak- 
ings of revolt in 1830. 

The Greek Insurrection. — The weakness of Turkey embold- 
ened the Greeks to attempt to throw off the hated Ottoman yoke. 
The sultans had become the puppets of their guards, the janizaries. 
One after another of them had been dethroned by their soldiers. 
The pashas were insubordinate : in Egypt, Mehe?netAli had almost 
made himself independent. Russia, by the Peace of Bucharest 
in 1 81 2, had possessed herself of Bessarabia and of Eastern Mol- 
davia as far as the Pruth. Among the Greeks, who were not more 
than a million in number, and were only one among the various 
peoples subject to Turkey, there were formed Hetaireiai, or secret 



554 MODERN HISTORY. 

societies, for the purpose of organizing an insurrection. The 
people were first summoned to rise by Alexander Ypsilanti ( 1821 ). 
A "national congress " promulgated a new constitution for Greece 
(1822). Great enthusiasm in behalf of the Greek cause was 
awakened in most of the civilized countries ; but the Congress of 
Verona (1822), inspired hy Mefternich, decided to give no help to 
the " insurgents." In the war of the Greeks with the Turks, there 
were atrocities committed on both sides. Scio was taken by the 
latter in 1822. Not far from twenty thousand of the inhabitants 
were massacred, and twice that number were enslaved. In 1824 
the Greeks began to receive foreign help. Among those who 
volunteered with a chivalrous sympathy to aid them in their com- 
bat was Lord Byron, who died at Missolonghi (1824). Nicholas 
I. of Russia, who in 1825 succeeded Alexander /., was more 
inclined to take an active part in the Greek contest, as he con- 
sidered himself the head of all Christians of the Greek faith. 
The Sultan Mahmoud II., by crushing the janizaries, strengthened 
himself at home, but weakened his means of attack and defense 
abroad. In 1826 he made important concessions to Russia; 
among other things, allowing her to occupy the east coast of the 
Black Sea, and giving to her vessels a free admission to Turkish 
waters. 

Greek Independence. — Mehemet Ali hoped to succeed Mah- 
moud. His son Ibrahim had defeated the Greeks at Navarino 
(1825). The next year, in conjunction with the Turks, he cap- 
tured Missolonghi. The apprehension that Nicholas might seek to 
divide Turkey with Mehemet Ali caused the Treaty of London to 
be concluded by the Great Powers which founded the kingdom 
of Greece (July 6, 1827). England, Russia, and France joined in 
executing the treaty. They destroyed the Turkish- Egyptian fleet 
at Navarino (Oct. 20). Later, Nicholas waged a separate war 
with the Porte, which was terminated by the Peace of Adrianople 
(1829), when the latter recognized the independence of Greece. 
The crown of Greece was accepted in 1832 by Otho, son of Louis 
of Bavaria. 



CHAPTER II. 

EUROPE FROM THE REVOLUTION OP 1830 TO THE REVO- 
LUTIONARY EPOCH OF 1848. 

Charles X. — Louis XVIII. died in 1824. His brother, Charles 
X. (1824-30), dealt generously with the collateral branch of the 
Bourbons, the house of Orleans. He restored to Loim Philippe, 
the son of that Philip Egalite whose base career was ended by the 
guillotine (p. 512), the vast estates of the Orleans family, and 



FRANCE UNDER CHARLES X. 555 

gave him the title of " Royal Highness." But he failed to secure 
the cordial support of this ambitious relative. The Duke of Or- 
leans stood well with the king, but was on good terms with the 
hberal leaders. The king sought to reinstate the ideas and ways 
of the old regime. He was specially zealous in behalf of ecclesi- 
astics, and ceremonies of devotion. But hberal views in pohtics 
gained ground in the second Chamber, as well as in the army and 
among the people. A liberal ministry under Martigjiac was in 
power for a while; but in 1829 it was succeeded by a ministry 
the head of which was the unpopular Prince Polignac, and the 
other principal members of which were hardly less obnoxious. 
They represented the extreme reactionary and royalist party. 
Their active opponents — Guizot, Thiers, and Benjamin Constant 
among them — found that their assaults on the government were 
generally applauded. All of these were brilliant pohtical writers. 
Constant (from 1825) had been the leader of the opposition. 
Thiers was a journalist of wide influence. Guizot had held office 
under the liberal ministers, and as lecturer on modern history, 
and by his writings, had laid the foundation of the great distinc- 
tion which he deservedly gained, as one of the foremost students 
and expounders of history in recent times. Thiers and Guizot 
were at this time united in the advocacy of a constitutional system, 
as opposed to the reactionary policy and the personal government 
to which the king and his ministers were committed. Later we 
shah see that the paths of these two statesmen diverged. In 1830 
Guizot was the opposition leader in the Chamber of Deputies. 
In the Chamber of Peers, the ministry was attacked by Chateau- 
briand, who had been a valuable supporter of the Bourbon cause, 
and by others. The Chambers were dissolved by the king. The 
capture of Algiers, in a war against the piratical power of which 
it was the seat, did not avail to lessen the growing hostility to his 
government. It found expression through the press and ia 
speeches at a great banquet. 

Ordinances of St. Cloud. — Taking advantage of the provision 
in the charter which gave extraordinary powers to the king for 
special emergencies (p. 537), the ministry took the fatal step 
(July 25, 1830) of issuing the "ordinances of St. Cloud," dis- 
solving the Chamber of Deputies, further restricting the suffrage 
so that many merchants and manufacturers lost this privilege, and 
reestablishing the censorship of the press in a peculiarly burden- 
some form. 

The July Revolution. — The ordinances were published on 
July 26. That evening Prince Poligfiac's windows were broken 
by a mob. The whole city of Paris was in a tumult. The liberal 
journals protested. There were collisions between the mob and 
the king's troops. A protest of the liberal deputies, who met at 



556 MODERN HISTORY. 

the house of Casimir Perier, was issued. In the night the people 
armed themseh^es. La Fayette arrived in Paris. On the 28th 
students, workmen, and all classes of citizens, armed themselves 
with whatever weapons they could lay hold of. The revolu- 
tionists took possession of the Hotel de Ville. The cry was 
that the charter was violated. All efforts to induce the king to 
make concessions failed. Many of the soldiers in Paris fra- 
ternized with the people, who on the 29th had control of the 
whole city, except the vicinity of the Tuileries, which they gained 
possession of that evening. La Fayette^ at the call of the deputies, 
assumed command of the National Guard. Finally, when it was 
too late, the king decided to withdraw the ordinances, and to 
change the ministry. Thiers and Mignet caused anonymous pla- 
cards to be posted, proposing that the Duke of Orleans should 
take the crown from the people. On the 30th Louis Philippe 
entered Paris on foot : he had passed the summer at his country 
place at Neuilly. Talleyrand, — whose influence was great with 
foreign courts, — Lafitte, and Thiers were active in the effort to 
advance him to the throne. The deputies decided that he must 
be made lieutenant-general of the kingdom. Charles X., who still 
blindly confided in him, on the 31st appointed him to this office. 
What the intentions of Louis Philippe were, is not clear. He 
probably meant to be governed by circumstances. On the 29th 
a municipal commission was installed at the Hotel de Ville, con- 
sisting of La Fayette and six other leading men. They selected 
several persons as officials whose authority was generally acknowl- 
edged. Louis Philippe, at the head of the deputies, went to the 
Hotel de Ville. He was cordially received by La Fayette and his 
associates. It was agreed that there should be " a popular throne, 
with free institutions." On the balcony, under the tri-color flag, 
the Duke of Orleans was introduced as " the man of the people." 
La Fayette felt that a republic would be contrary to the national 
wish. Thiers was of the same mind. They feared complications 
and contests abroad, and what might be the results of general 
suffrage, in the existing state of the country, at home. 

Flight of Charles X. — The desertion of Charles X. by his 
troops would have rendered an armed contest on his part imprac- 
ticable. The dexterous management of Louis Philippe was made 
effectual by the favoring circumstances. On Aug. 2 the king 
abdicated in favor of his grandson, the Duke of Bordeaux, and 
was compelled to fly from the kingdom. The volunteer army had 
been stirred up to go out to Rambouillet to drive him away. The 
angry old king did not wait for their coming. 

Louis Philippe made King. — The Chamber of Deputies de- 
clared the throne vacant. They altered the charter, — putting all 
religious bodies on a level, giving freedom to the press, limiting 



FRANCE: POLAND: GERMANY. 55/ 

the powers of the king, and giving to the Chambers, as well as to 
him, the initiative in framing laws. They chose Louis Philippe 
" King of the French." He owed his elevation to the middle 
classes, and claimed to be the "citizen king." 

Separation of Belgium. — The effect of the new revolution was 
to set in motion the elements of discontent in the other European 
countries. Belgium was the first to feel the shock. The Belgians 
were restless under the rule of William /., whose treatment of 
them aggravated the disaffection which their political relation to 
Holland constantly occasioned. A revolt broke out at Brussels. 
The offer of a legislative and administrative separation of Belgium 
from Holland, with one king over both, might have been accepted 
if it had been made earlier ; but it followed unsuccessful efforts 
to quell the insurrection by force. A provisional government was 
created at Brussels, which proclaimed the independence of Bel- 
gium (Oct. 4), and convoked a national congress. France con- 
fined itself to preventing the interference of foreign powers. A 
conference of ministers aX -London (Jan., 1831) recognized the 
new state, which adopted a liberal constitution. Leopold /. of 
Saxe- Coburg was chosen king. He was aided by the forces of the 
French; but the war with Holland lasted until 1833, and it was 
not until 1839 that Holland definitely accepted the action of the 
London congress. 

Poland. — Poland was harshly ruled for the Czar by the Grand 
Duke Constantine. The revolution in France was the signal for a 
Polish rising, that began in an unsuccessful attempt of students and 
others to seize the person of the grand duke. The insurrection 
spread : men of talents and distinction, as well as Polish soldiers, 
joined the cause of the people. The Czar, Nicholas, would make 
no terms with the insurgents, and the Diet (Jan. 25, 1831) de- 
clared him to have forfeited the Polish crown. The Poles fought 
with desperate valor in a series of bloody battles, only to be over- 
whelmed by superiority of numbers. They were defeated at 
Oslrolenka by Diebitsch (May 26). After his death, Warsaw 
surrendered to Paskievitch (Sept. 8), and another Russian general 
entered Cracow. Poland was now reduced, as far as it could be, 
to a Russian province. The army was merged in the Russian 
forces ; the university was suppressed ; the Roman Catholic reli- 
gion, the prevailing faith, was persecuted ; and it was computed 
that in one year (1832) eighty thousand Poles were sent to 
Siberia. 

Germany : Hungary. — In Saxony and in the minor states of 
Germany, disturbances were consequent on the tidings of the revo- 
lution at Paris. Prussia and Austria were little affected by it ; but 
the demands of the Diet in Hungary, when Ferdinand, the son of 
Francis J. was crowned king of that country, were an augury of a 



558 MODERN HISTORY. 

far greaterxommotion to arise at a later day. In the Diet of 1832 
Louis Kossuth first appeared as a member. Between the years 
1828 and 1834, the German states (not including Austria), under 
the guidance of Prussia and Bavaria, formed a Zoilverein, or 
customs-union, which was an important step in the direction of 
German unity, and one which Austria looked on with disfavor. 

Italy. — In 1831, there were signs of revolt in different states 
of Italy. At Mode7ia, a provisional government was erected. The 
same thing was done at Bologna. Maria Louisa was driven out 
of Parma. Among those who joined the insurgents in the Papal 
Kingdom were Napoleon and his younger brother Loui'i Bonaparte, 
sons of Louis Bonaparte king of Holland. The elder of the sons 
died soon after at Forli. The Italians relied on the help of Louis 
Philippe, but the citizen king had no disposition to engage in war 
with Austria. The uprisings were put down with the assistance 
of Austrian troops. Charles Albert, after April, 1831, king of 
Sardinia, did a good work in the discipline of his army. Without 
any esteem for Austria, he refused to further the plans of the revo- 
lutionary party, and thus incurred the hostility of Mazzini, who 
was organizing the movement of " Young Italy " for independence 
and unity. Mazzitii, a man of elevated spirit and disinterested 
aims, was long to be known as the head of the republican patriots 
and plotters. 

England. — In England, reform went forward peacefully. The 
middle class gradually obtained its demands. The national debt, 
at the close of the wars with Napoleon, amounted to nearly eight 
hundred miUions of pounds. In 1823, with the accession of Mr. 
LIuskisson to office, began the movement for a more free com- 
mercial policy, which led in the end to the repeal of the corn-laws. 
The question of " Catholic disabilities " was agitated from time to 
time, and something had been done to lighten them. Yet in 1828 
Catholics were still shut out by law from almost every office of 
trust and distinction. They could not sit in either house of Par- 
liament. The endeavors of liberal statesmen for their relief were 
defeated by the Tory majorities. The agitation was increased by 
the " Catholic Association " formed in Ireland by the Irish leader 
and orator, Daniel O' Connell. A Tory ministry was formed by 
the Duke of Wellington, with Mr. (afterwards Sir) Robert Peel 
for its chief supporter in the House of Commons (1829). Yet, to 
avert the danger of civil war, the ministry introduced, and with aid 
of the Whigs carried, the " Catholic Emancipation Bill." 

The Reform Bill. — On the death of George IV., William IV., 
his brother (1830-183 7), succeeded to the throne. He was favor- 
able to parliamentary reform. The ferment on this subject caused 
the resignation of the Wellington ministry, which was succeeded 
by the ministry of Earl Grey. A bill for reform was presented to 



ENGLAND. 559 

Parliament, depriving eighty-eight "rotten or decayed" boroughs, 
where there were very few inhabitants, of a hundred and forty-three 
members of the House of Commons, who were given to counties 
or to large towns, such as Birmingham and Manchester, which had 
no representation. At the same time the franchise was greatly 
extended. The bill was strenuously resisted by the Tories, who 
now began to be called Conservatives. Its repeated rejection by 
the House of Lords caused a violent agitation. Finally, in 1832, 
when it was understood that the king would create new peers 
enough to pass the measure, it was carried in the upper house, and 
became a law. 

Slavery Abolished. — In 1833 the system of slavery in the 
British colonies was abolished, twenty million pounds being paid 
as a compensation to the slave-owners. This measure was the 
result of an agitation in which Wilberforce, Clarkson, and Buxton 
had been foremost. 

In the latter part of the eighteenth century, a strong feeling arose against 
the slave-trade. Granville Sharp (1734-1813) was one of the earliest pro- 
moters of its abolition. By his agency, in the case of a negro, — Somerset, — 
claimed as a slave, the decision was obtained from Lord Mansfield, that a 
slave could not be held in England, or carried out of it. The Quakers were 
early in the field in opposition to the traffic in slaves. In the House of Com- 
mons, Wilberforce, a man of earnest religious convictions and one of the 
most eloquent orators of his time, contended against it for years. His friend 
Pitt, and Fox, joined him in 1790, The measure of abolition was carried in 
1S07. Then followed the agitation for the abolition of slavery itself. The 
slave-trade was made illegal by France in 1819. It had been condemned by 
the Congress of Vienna. In the French colonies, slavery continued until 
1848. 

Legal Reforms. — In the same year the monopoly of the East- 
India Company was abolished, and trade with the East was made 
free to all merchants. A new Poor Law (1834) checked the 
growth of pauperism. In 1835, by the Municipal Corporations 
Act, the ancient rights of self-government by the towns, which had 
been lost since the fourteenth century, were restored to them. 
Civil marriage was made legal, in compliance with a demand of 
the Dissenters, who were likewise relieved of other grounds of com- 
plaint (1836). Increased attention began to be paid to popular 
education. 

Chartism. — Notwithstanding the constitutional changes in Eng- 
land, the distress and discontent of the poorer classes occasioned 
the riotous " Chartist " movement in 1839, when universal suffrage, 
annual parliaments, and other radical changes were in vain de- 
manded. Mass meetings were held, and outbreakings of violence 
were feared ; but order was preserved. 

China: Afghanistan. — A war with China (1839) had no better 
ground than the refusal of the Chinese government to allow the 
importation of opium. The occupation of Kabul in 1839 caused 



56o MODERN HISTORY. 

a general revolt of the Afghans. A British army was destroyed in 
the Khyber Pass. The British then conquered, but did not care 
to retain, Afghanistan. 

Repeal of the Corn Laws. — Victoria, the only child of the 
Duke of Kent, the brother of William IV., succeeded the latter 
in 1837. She married her cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg and 
Gotha (1840). In 1846 the party which had long advocated free 
trade gained a triumph in the repeal of the Corn Laws, which had 
existed since 1815, imposing duties on imported grain. In the agi- 
tation which preceded the repeal, Richaj-d Cobden was the leader : 
he was effectively aided by JoJm Bright. But the measure was 
carried by Sir Robert Peel, who on this question abandoned his 
former views and those of the Conservatives, by whom he had been 
raised to power. He was bitterly assailed, especially by D Psraeli, 
who was rising to the position of a leader among them. 

Louis Philippe. — Louis Philippe made up his first ministry 
from the party which had raised him to the throne. Among its 
members were B^-oglie, Guizot, and Casimir Perier. The king 
aimed by shrewd management to maintain his popularity at home, 
and to keep the peace with foreign powers, by taking care to 
encourage liberal movements abroad, yet without taking any step 
in that direction which would bring on war. He did nothing for 
the Poles in their mortal struggle, and nothing really effectual for the 
Italiatis. Several abortive attempts upon his life were made by 
secret societies ; one of a dangerous character, by Fieschi (1835), 
who fired " an infernal machine " from his window when the king 
was passing. This was followed by the " Laws of September," to 
curb the license of the press. They reminded the public of the 
royalist laws of 1820. They were opposed by the more liberal men : 
Royer- Collard and Villemain spoke against them. They went by 
the name of the "Fieschi laws." An effort to raise an insurrec- 
tion among the French troops in Strasbu?-g was made by Lotiis 
Napoleon Bonaparte (1836), who, after his flight from Italy, had 
resided in Switzerland, where he had busied himself in study, and 
had written several books. The enterprise proved a ridiculous 
failure : its author was allowed to go to America. 

French Policy in the East. — Various causes conspired to 
undermine Louis Philippe'' s government. One of these was its 
connection with the war of Mehemet Ali with the Sultan. In the 
former war with his over-lord, the Sultan, the viceroy of Egypt had 
been invested with Syria as a fief He now sent an army into 
Syria, under his son Ibrahim, who overran that country, advanced 
victoriously into Asia Minor, and threatened Constantinople (1832). 
The European powers intervened, and obliged Mehemet Ali to 
content himself with Syria, together with the district of Adana in 
Asia Minor, and the island of Candia, which the Sultan liad ceded 



FRANCE UNDER LOUIS PHILIPPE. 561 

to him before. In 1839 the Sultan tried to recover Syria, but 
encountered an overwhelming defeat, and lost the entire Turkish 
fleet. England now combined with Austria, Prussia, and Russia, 
and the Western powers once more saved the Turkish Empire ; 
although France, under the ministry of Thiers, had strongly favored 
the cause of Mehemet AH (1840). Contrary to the wish of the 
French, he had to give up Syria. He secured for himself and his 
descendants the pashalic of Egypt (1841). The failure of the 
French policy in the East, by this action of the Quadruple Alliance, 
caused indignation and chagrin in France. Even Thiers, who was 
in sympathy with the cause of Mehemet Ah, was loudly blamed. 
There was danger of a rupture with England. Thiers was a prin- 
cipal author of the plan for fortifying Paris by encircling the city 
with forts. The king judged that they might prove to be of use in 
putting down insurrections. Louis Napoleon thought the occasion 
favorable for another attempt to seize the crown. He landed from 
England at Boulogne with a few followers, and proclaimed himself 
emperor. He was captured, tried, and imprisoned in the fortress 
of Ham, where he spent six years. His time there was mostly 
given to study and vv^riting. A few months before this attempt of 
Louis Napokuu, the French government had arranged for the 
bringing of the body of the first Napoleon from St. Helena to Paris. 
It was one of various impolitic measures, in which Thie7's was 
actively concerned, for doing honor to the emperor and his mili- 
tary achievements. But at that time Louis Napoleon, who was 
known to be a man of slow mind, but whose capacity for intrigue 
was not understood, was regarded with contempt, and the Bona- 
partists excited no alarm. In 1841, in the presence of the royal 
family and of a vast concourse, che remains of Napoleon were de- 
posited with great pomp in a magnificent tomb under the dome 
of the Church of the Invalides. Marshal Soult superseded Thiers 
at the head of the ministry (1840) ; but Guizot was the ruling 
spirit in the cabinet, and was associated with the king until his 
dethronement. The death of the Duke of Orleans, the eldest son 
of Louis Philippe, by a fall from his carriage (July 13, 1842), 
endangered the new dynasty. The duke's eldest son, the Count 
of Pa7'is. was then only four years of age. 

Guizot's Administration. — From 1 840 Guizot was the prin- 
cipal minister of Louis Philippe, and Thiers was in the opposition. 
They differed both as regards foreign and domestic policy. Thiers, 
who in his convictions was a decided liberal, and in full sym- 
pathy with the spirit of the French Revolution, was for the exten- 
sion of suffrage, and for making the influence of France felt and 
respected in matters of European concern, even at the risk of war. 
Guizot, on the contrary, clung to the English alliance, and he 
considered that a foreign war — for example, in defense of Mehe- 



562 MODERN HISTORY. 

met AH, — would be to France a great and needless calamity. 
Claiming to be a fast friend of representative government, Gtiizot 
nevertheless inflexibly resisted movements for the extension of 
popular rights, — movements which he beUeved would lead, if they 
were not withstood, to revolution and anarchy. On the one hand 
were the legitimists, aiming at the restoration of the elder branch 
of the Bourbons ; on the other hand there were the republicans, 
who wished to be rid of monarchy altogether. The government 
of Louis Philippe satisfied neither. It served as a transition, or 
temporary halting-place, in the progress of France towards the 
goal of rational and stable republicanism, to which the great Revo- 
lution tended. It was an " attempt to put new wine in old bot- 
tles." This inherent weakness of the Orleans rule, it would 
have been difficult by any means to neutralize in such a way 
as to avert, sooner or later, a catastrophe. The unbending con- 
servatism of Guizot — as seen, for instance, in his refusal to ex- 
tend suffrage — hastened this result. A government over which 
less than half a million of voters of the middle class alone had an 
influence, could not stand against the progressive feeling of the 
country. The middle class, on which the throne depended, be- 
came separated from the advanced party, to which the youth of 
France more and more rallied. Guizot was personally upright ; 
but official corruption was suffered to spread in the last years of 
his administration, and bribery was used in the elections. These 
circumstances, added to the mortification of national pride from 
the little heed paid to France by the other powers, weakened the 
throne. The failure of the government to support the cause of 
liberty in Poland and Italy was another important source of its 
growing unpopularity. 

Guizot, in the personal Memoirs written by him after the fall of Louis 
Philippe, has defended himself against the charge of a want of loyal support 
of Thiers, the head of the ministry, while he (Guizot) was ambassador to 
England (1840). There was a private understanding that he should go no 
farther than his sympathy with the views of Thiers extended. Guizot has 
undertaken, also, to show that a war in behalf of Mehemet Ali would have 
been most unwise ; and that it was for the interest of France to regain its 
weight in European affairs, not by the renewal of the bloody and fruitless 
contests of the past, but by methods of peace. He deemed it his duty not 
to give way to the "warlike tastes and inclinations" of the P'rench people. 
The effort, however, to tie down so spirited a nation to so tame a policy, 
proved to be futile. The recollections of the empire, which the government 
itself did so much to arouse, moved the people to compare the achieve- 
ments of the past with the humiliating position of their country under the 
Orleans rule. 

Guizot has left this interesting exposition of his principles and policy: " In the diplomatic 
complication which agitated Europe, I saw a brilliant opportunity of exercising and loudly 
proclaiming a foreign policy, extremely new and bold in fact, though moderate in appearance, 
ihe only foreign policy which in 1840 suited the peculiar position of France and her govern- 
ment, as also the only course in harmony with the guiding principles and permanent wants of 
the great scheme of civilization to which the world of to-day aspires and tends. 

" The spirit of conquest, of propagandism, and of system, has hitherto been the moving 



FRANCE UNDER LOUIS PHILIPPE. 563 

cause and master ol the foreign policy of states. The ambition of princes or peoples has 
sought its gratification in territorial aggrandizement. Religious or political faith has endeav- 
ored to e.vpand by imposing itself. Great heads of government have attempted to regulate the 
destinies of nations according to profound combinations, the offspring rather of their own 
thought than the natural result of facts. Let us cast a glance over the history of international 
European relations. We shall see the spirit of conquest, or of armed propagandism, or of some 
systematic design upon the territorial organization of Europe, inspire and determine the foreign 
policy of governments. Let one or other of these impulses prevail, and governments have 
disposed arbitrarily of the fate of nations. War has ever been their indispensable mode of 
action. 

" I know that this course of things has been the fatal result of men's passions; and that, in 
spite of those passions and the evils they have inflicted on nations, European civilization has 
continued to increase and prosper, and may increase and prosper still more. It is to the honor 
of the Christian world, that evil does not stifle good. I know that the progress of civilization 
and public reason will not abolish human passions, and that, under their impulse, the spirit 
of conquest, of armed propagandism, and of system, will ever maintain, in the foreign policy of 
states, their place and portion. But, at the same time, I hold for certain that these various 
incentives are no longer in harmony with the existing state of manners, ideas, interests, and 
social instincts; and that it is quite possible to-day to combat and restrain materially their 
empire. The extent and activity of industry and commerce ; the necessity of consulting the 
general good; the habit of frequent, easy, prompt, and regular intercourse between peoples; 
the invincible bias for free association, inquiry, discussion, and publicity, — these characteristic 
features of great modern society already e.\ercise, and will continue to exercise more and more, 
against the warlike or diplomatic fancies of foreign policy, a preponderating influence. People 
smile, not without reason, at the language and puerile confidence of the Friends of Peace, and 
of the Peace Societies. All the leading tendencies, all the most elevated hopes of humanity, 
have their dreams, and their idle, gaping advocates, as they have also their days of decline and 
defeat; but they no less pursue their course; and through all the chimeras of some, the doubts 
and mockeries of others, society becomes transformed, and policy, foreign and domestic, is 
compelled to transform itself with society We have witnessed the most dazzling exploits of the 
spirit of conquest, the most impassioned efforts of the spirit of armed propagandism ; we have 
seen territories and states molded and re-molded, unmade, re-made, and unmade again, at 
the pleasure of combinations more or less specious. What survives of all these violent and 
arbitrary works ? They have fallen, like plants without roots, or edifices without foundation. 
And now, when analogous enterprises are attempted, scarcely have they made a few steps in 
advance when they pause and hesitate, as if embarrassed by, and doubtful of, themselves; so 
little are they in accord with the real wants, the profound instincts, of existing society, and with 
the persevering, though frequently disputed, tendencies of modern civilization. ... I repeat, 
our history since 1785, our endless succession of shocks, revolutions, and wars, have left us in 
a state of leverish agitation which renders peace insipid,. and teaches us to find a blind gratifi- 
cation in the "unexpected strokes of a hazardous policy. We are a prey to two opposing cur- 
rents, — one deep and regular, which carries towards the definite goal of our social state ; the 
other superficial and disturbed, which throws us here and there in search of new adventures 
and unknown lands. Thus we float and alternate between these two opposing directions, — 
called towards the one by our sound sense and moral conviction, and enticed towards the other 
by our habits of routine and freaks of imagination." {Mejnoirs of a Minister of State, from 
the year 1840, pp. 7-g, 10.) 

The King's Avarice. — The imputation of avarice to Louis 
Philippe was one source of his increasing unpopularity. On his 
accession he had handed over to his children the estates of the 
house of Orleans, in order that, as private property, they might 
not be forfeited with the loss of the crown. He was not content 
with increasing his wealth by adding to it all the possessions of 
Charles X. and of the Duke of Bourbon, but it was discovered that 
he was engaged in business ventures. In providing for ample 
marriage settlements for his children, he resorted to devices which 
gave offense to the Chamber of Deputies and to the public. Yet 
writers like Martin, who are strongly averse to his method of rule, 
clear him of blame in these particulars, if he is to be judged by 
what is usual in a monarchical system. 

The Spanish Marriages. — An event of consequence in relation 
to the fall of Louis Philippe from power was the affair of the 
Spanish marriages, which took place under the ministry of Guizot. 



564 MODERN HISTORY. 

The Duke de Montpe7isier, the youngest son of the king, was mar- 
ried to the sister of Isabella II. of Spain. The design, it was 
beheved, was, in the anticipated childlessness of the queen, to 
secure for his heirs the Spanish crown. 

Ferdinaiid VII. of Spain was an absolutist ; but the extreme monarchi- 
cal party there wished for a king of more energy, and desired to raise to 
the throne his brother Don Carlos. In 1830 Ferdinand, being then child- 
less, was induced by his wife, the daughter of Ferdinand IV. of Naples, to 
abrogate the Salic law excluding females from the succession. Her daughter 
Isabella was born a few months later. After the death of the king (1833), 
the Carlists resisted the exclusion of their favorite from the throne. Don 
Carlos was proclaimed in the Basque provinces, and a civil war arose. The 
queen, Maria Christina, as regent, was supported by the 7noderados (mode- 
rates) and the liberals, and was allowed to recruit for her army in England 
and France. The leading constitutionalist general, Espartero, was success- 
ful ; and Don Carlos fled into France (1839). The queen regent allied herself 
with the conservative wing of the progressive party (the moderados) ; but in- 
surrections at Barcelo7ia and Madrid, in the interest of the radical wing, 
obliged her to make Espartero, the head of the movement, prime minister 
(1840). His administration greatly promoted the prosperity of the country. 
But the conservatives and absolutists were against him ; and, as the result 
of a counter-insurrection. Gen. N'arvaez, the leader of the conservatives, 
became chief of the cabinet (1S44); but he was dismissed two years later. 
The constitution was divested of some of its liberal features. The queen, 
Isabella II., had been declared of age by the Cortes, and placed on the 
throne (Nov. 10, 1843). Christina, her dissolute mother, returned from 
France, whither she had fled. In the hope of securing the Spanish throne 
to the Orleans family, Louis Philippe arranged with Christina to effect a 
marriage between Isabella and a weakling in body and mind, Francis de 
Assis ; and, at the same time, a marriage of his son, the Dttke de Montpensier, 
with her sister Maria Louisa (Oct. 10, 1846). An Orleans prince would not 
have acquired the crown, even if Louis Philippe had remained on the French 
throne, since a daughter was born to Isabella in 1851. 

There was loud complaint in England against the king and 
Giiizot, for the alleged violation of a promise in this affair. Their 
defense was that Lord Palmerston, who succeeded Aberdeen, took 
a very different position from that of this minister, which had been 
the condition of the engagement. It was from Palmerston'' s action 
previously in the affair of Egypt, that the French were embittered, 
the English alliance was weakened, and the policy of Guizot, who 
was sincerely desirous to maintain this friendly relation, was dis- 
credited at home. 

Fall of Louis Philippe. — The scarcity of provisions in 1846 
and 1847 provoked much discontent in France. "Bread riots" 
broke out in various places. The liberal party, composed of diverse 
elements, organized committees as one of their instruments of 
agitation in behalf of political reform. The democratic and so- 
ciahstic journals published inflammatory discussions and appeals. 
The complaint of corruption among officials grew louder. Com- 
munism had numerous votaries ; and M. Louis Blanc was an 
apostle of socialism, — the theory that the government should 



FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 565 

furnish work and maintenance to all of its subjects. Great reform 
banquets were held, where the spirit was inimical to Guizot, — 
who would yield nothing to the popular clamor, — and hostile to 
the reactionary policy of the Orleans monarchy. The spark that 
kindled the flames of revolution was the prohibition by Guizot of 
a great reform banquet appointed to be held on the 2 2d of Feb- 
ruary, 1848, in the Champs Ely sees, in which a hundred thousand 
persons were expected to participate. On that day barricades 
were thrown up in the streets, and there were some conflicts with 
the municipal guard. These disturbances continued on the next 
day. The king, who did not lack physical courage, evinced no 
firmness or boldness in this crisis, dismissed Guizot as a peace- 
offering, and called upon Count Mole to form a cabinet. Mole 
declined ; the riotous disturbances increased ; and Thiers, on the 
promise of the king to consent to the reforms demanded, under- 
took, when it was too late, to take office, and try to pacify the 
people. Soldiers began to fraternize with the mob. The king 
showed no spirit, but abdicated in favor of his grandson, the Count 
of Paris. The Duchess of Orleans presented her two sons, the 
count and his brother, before the Chamber of Deputies. But the 
motion for a provisional government prevailed (Feb. 24). It con- 
sisted of Dupont de PEure, Laniartine the poet, Arago, Ledru- 
Rollin, and six associates. It established itself in the Hotel de 
Ville. This act, and the firmness and eloquence of Laniartine, 
prevented the establishment of an ultra-republican, socialistic 
Directory. The middle classes, alarmed on account of the dis- 
plays of mob violence, rallied to the support of Laniartine and the 
party of order. Louis Philippe and his family were allowed to 
escape to England. There Guizot temporarily took up his abode. 
After a year, this " last of the Huguenots " returned to France, 
where he died in 1874. 

Contest with Socialists. — A concession was made to the social- 
ists in the establishment of government workshops, which turned 
out to be not workshops at all, but mere excavations. A mob of the 
Red Republicans was checked (April 16) by the National Guards. 
The National Assembly voted for a republic. Another mob of 
socialists and communists was suppressed (May 15). But the 
great contest came (June 23-26) when the government dismissed 
a part of those given employment on public works. The battle 
was severe ; but the government troops under the command of a 
patriotic general, Cavaigfiac, who was made dictator during the 
struggle, subdued the insurgents. He was now appointed presi- 
dent of the council, or chief of the executive commission. 

The Republic : Louis Napoleon. — Fear of communism and of 
mob violence gave a new impetus to the conservative tendency. 
A republican constitution, however, with a president holding for 



566 MODERN HISTORY. 

a term of four years, was adopted. Louis Napoleon was elected a 
member of the assembly. He was chosen president of the repub- 
lic, mainly by the votes of the peasantry and common soldiers, and 
with the help of Thiers and others who thought him incapable, 
and desired to bring about a restoration of the Orleans rule. 

Thiers was a personal enemy of Cavaignac. " Thiers" says Martin, " did not feel the 
same repulsion for the consulate and the empire as does the present generation: he took Louis 
Napoleon for an inexperienced and somewhat narrow-minded man, whom he could easily restrain 
and direct, not guessing the determined obstinacy and prejudice hidden beneath his heavy and 
commonplace exterior." {^Popular History of France [from -789], iii. 200.) 



CHAPTER in. 

EUROPE, FROM THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1848 TO THE 
AUSTRO-PRUSSIAN WAR (1866). 

Disturbances in Germany. — The effect of the revolution which 
dethroned Louis Philippe was felt like an electric shock through all 
Europe. It was experienced immediately in the smaller states of 
Germany. New ministries were installed, which were pledged to 
a liberal policy. Louis of Bavaria resigned the crown to his son 
Maximilian. The Grand Duke of Baden agreed to the demands 
of a popular convention at Mannheim, and he placed a liberal minis- 
try in control of the government. Prussia and Austria were thor- 
oughly disturbed by the movement for freedom and national unity. 
A rising in Vienna (March 13-15), headed by the students, com- 
pelled Metternich to depart for safety to England, the asylum of 
political exiles of every creed. The emperor summoned a Diet to 
be chosen by popular suffrage, and went for safety to Innsbruck 
among his faithful Tyrolese. In Berlin, at the same time, there 
were excited meetings, and conflicts in the streets between the 
people and the soldiers. The Prussian king yielded to the demand 
of the crowd which gathered before his palace on the i8th of 
March, that the troops should be sent out of Berlin ; but he did 
not send them away until the next day, and after an attack had 
been made on them from behind barricades. The ministry was 
dismissed, and a call was issued for a National Assembly to be 
chosen by ballot. 

The Frankfort Convention. — There was a gathering at Frank- 
fort, of about five hundred Germans, who organized themselves 
as a provisional parliament under the presidency of Mittermaier 
(March 31). They resolved to call a National Assembly, to be 
elected by the German people. The Confederate Diet recognized 
the authority of the provisional parliament. 

The Frankfort Parliament. — The National Assembly met on 
May 18, and created a new provisional central government, with 



EUROPE FROM 1848 TO 1866. 567 

the Archduke /o /in of Atcstria as its head. The Confederate Diet 
ceased to exist. But the division of parties in the assembly, with 
respect to the system of government for united Germany, gave 
rise to long and profitless discussions. Differences of opinion as 
to the steps to be taken in a war which had sprung up with Den- 
mark, respecting the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, made the 
strife of factions in the parliament still more bitter. 

New Prussian Constitution. — The Prussian National Assembly 
met on May 22. A hot contention arose between the moderate 
and the radical parties. At length the king adjourned the assem- 
bly to meet in Brandenburg; but the party of the "Left" (the 
radical party) protested, and was soon dispersed by force. In 
Brandenburg a quorum failed to meet. The government framed 
a constitution with two chambers, — the second to be chosen by 
universal suffrage, — and called a new parliament to consider it. 
The new parliament failed to agree with the government, but an- 
other parliament met (Aug. 7, 1849). Mutual concessions were 
made, and the king swore to maintain the new constitution (Feb. 
6, 1850). 

Austria : End of the Frankfort Assembly. — The Diet of the 
Austrian Empire was a confused assembly representing different 
nationalities. Kossuth, an eloquent Hungarian deputy in the 
lower house, demanded independence for his country. The Sla- 
vonic tribes resisted the supremacy of the Magyars. When the 
emperor took active measures against these (Oct. 6), there was 
an uprising in Vienna. The city was held by the revolutionists 
until the 30th, when it was captured by the emperor after much 
bloodshed. Ferdinand I. abdicated in favor of his young nephew, 
Francis Joseph. The Frankfort Assembly debated the question, 
what relation Austria should have to united Germany. A majority 
decided (March 27, 1849) that a president should be appointed, 
whose office should descend in his family, and that he should be 
styled " Emperor of the Germans." The station was offered to 
Frederick William of Prussia, but he declined it. The new con- 
stitution was not accepted by the more important states. The 
assembly dwindled away through the withdrawal or resignation of 
members, and, having adjourned to Stuttga^'t, was finally dispersed 
by the Wiirtemberg government (June 18). Its history was a 
grievous disappointment of ardent hopes. The Prussians helped 
the Saxon, Bavarian, and Baden governments, to put down for- 
midable and partially successful popular insurrections in their 
states. 

The Hungarian Revolt. — Austria reduced her German prov- 
inces to subjection, and early in 1849 the Italian provinces also. 
But a great contest was to be waged with the Hungarians, who gath- 
ered an army of one hundred thousand men, and gained decided 



568 MODERN HISTORY. 

advantages over incompetent Austrian generals. But in the end 
Austria brought together overwhehiiing forces and was aided by the 
intervention of Russia, which sent an army into Hungary. The 
Hungarian general, Gorgey, whom Kossuth and the ministers had 
made dictator, surrendered at Vilagos (Aug. 13, 1849). Kossuth 
and other Hungarian patriots fled into Turkey. Hungary was 
dealt with as conquered territory. The Austrian commander, 
Haynau, treated the vanquished people with brutal severity. The 
Hungarian constitution was abolished. The general constitution 
of Austria was abrogated on Dec. 31, 185 1. 

Condition of Italy. — Charles Albert, the king of Piedmont, or 
Sardinia, disliked the preponderance of the Austrians, and de- 
sired to give his people good government, but was disinclined to 
enter into the schemes of " Young Italy," composed of the ardent 
republicans of whom Mazzini was the chief. On this account they 
were exasperated with him. On the contrary, a great part of the 
'' moderates " placed their hope for Italy in the Sardinian king 
and his house. To one of these, VAzeglio, a nobleman of high 
character, who reported to him, in 1845, the danger that revolu- 
tionary risings against misrule in Italy would occur, and set forth 
the necessity for a speedy remedy, the king said, " Make known 
to these gentlemen, that they must be quiet and not move, for at 
present nothing can be done ; but let them be certain, that, if the 
occasion presents itself, my life, the life of my sons, my arms, my 
treasure, my army, all shall be devoted to the cause of Italy." In 
Tuscany, there was much less oppression than elsewhere, but even 
there the government was despotic. 

Liberal Policy of Pius IX. — On the death of Gregory XVI. 
(1846), Cardinal Mastai Feretti was made Pope, and took the 
name of Pius IX. He adopted a new and liberal policy. Prison- 
ers for political offenses were set free, an amnesty was proclaimed, 
and improvements — including railroads — were promised. The 
" Gregoriani," who were devoted to the old administrative system 
and to Austrian predominance, were offended. The Roman people 
generally were full of joy and hope. The extreme republicans 
were dissatisfied and suspicious. On the occasion of disturbances, 
the Pope consented to the formation of a National Guard, as the 
liberal party wished. The consequence was, that Austrian troops 
were marched into his territory. This movement roused Charles 
Albert to espouse more actively the Italian cause. In Tuscany 
the Liberals, with Ricasoli for a leader, drove the Grand Duke to 
measures of reform. Austrian aggressions were more severely felt 
in Parana and Modena. In Palermo, there was a rising (Jan. 12) 
against the unbearable tyranny of Ferdinand II. This was followed 
by an insurrection in Naples itself. The king was obliged to grant 
to his people a constitution. The same boon was granted by 













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East^^^'^^^^!3li=^from 107 IVashington 



EUROPE FROM 1848 TO 1866. 569 

Pius IX., by the king of Sardinia, and by the Tuscan Grand 
Duke. Italy, it should be observed, was already on fire with these 
revolutionary movements prior to the overthrow of the government 
of Louis Philippe. The earliest popular demonstrations at Milan 
were on Sept. 5 and 8, 1847. 

Events in Italy. — The revolt in Vienna and in Hungary in 
1848 furnished the long-coveted occasion for the Italians to attack 
the hated Austrian rule. Lombardy flew to arms, and expelled the 
Austrian troops. The Venetians set up a provisional government 
under Daniele Manin, their leader in the insurrection. The king 
of Sardinia declared war against Austria. A multitude of Italian vol- 
unteers rushed to his standard. But there was no national league ; 
his military management lacked skill ; and after some successes he 
was defeated by Radetzky, the Austrian general, at Custozza (July 
25). Garibaldi, who had been a sailor, but was now a gallant and 
adventurous champion of the Italian movement, kept up the con- 
test in the mountains on the north. The Austrians were once more 
in power. The refusal of the Pope to take part in hostilities against 
them alienated the liberals. His best minister Rossi, who stood 
midway between the extreme parties, was assassinated (Nov. 15). 
From the disorder that reigned at Rome, Pius IX, escaped in the 
dress of a common priest to Gaeta. The extreme democrats in 
Tuscany got the upper hand, and set up a provisional government. 
In Piedmont, Gioberti, the minister, gave way to Ratazzi, who was 
of the democratic school. But the dream of an Italian confedera- 
tion was dissipated by the great defeat of Charles Albert by Ra- 
detzky at Novara (March 23). The broken-hearted king resigned 
his crown to his son, Victor Emmaiiuel. In Rome, the government, 
after the flight of the Pope, was lodged in an assembly elected by 
popular suffrage, with triumvirs, of whom Mazzini was the first. 
The French were not disposed to allow the Austrians to dominate 
in the peninsula, and sent an army under Oudinot, who captured 
Rome from the republicans, after a stubborn defense by Ga7'ibaldi. 
A French garrison now occupied the city. The Pope, who had 
abandoned the idea of political changes in the direction of Italian 
freedom and unity, was brought back to the Vatican (April, 1850). 
By the close of the summer of 1849, the Austrian authority was 
restored, and was exercised with redoubled severity in Venice and 
Milan. The rulers of Tuscany, Modena, and Parma had before 
returned to their capitals. They were kept in power by means of 
Austrian garrisons. The will of Austria was law in the greater part 
of Italy. Ferdinand II. (called Bomba) maintained his tyranny 
by the help of Swiss mercenaries and loathsome dungeons. Pied- 
mont was the only spot where constitutional freedom survived. In 
its youthful monarch and in Garibaldi, the hope of Italy rested. 
The course of events ultimately proved that both the fire of the 



570 MODERN HISTORY. 

republicans and the prudence of more moderate statesmen were 
requisite for its emancipation. 

Coup d'Etat of Louis Napoleon. — The Legislative Assembly 
in France, consisting of one chamber, had in it many monarchists. 
As the first Napoleon was sustained by the dread of Jacobin rule, 
so the third Napoleon profited by the dread of the ultra-republi- 
cans. It was felt by the trading- class, that the safety of society 
depended on him. When the French troops were sent to Rome 
in 1849, the opposition of Ledru-Roilin and his radical party be- 
came more furious. But Changarnier and his troops dispersed 
their procession (June 13), and broke down their barricades. The 
Paris insurrection was put down, and Ledj-u-Rollin fled the 
country. Thiers, Bi-oglie, Mole, Montalembe7't, and other ad- 
herents of the Bourbons, either of the old or of the Orleans 
branch, now professed to yield to Louis Napoleon their adhesion. 
His measures for the restraint of the press, the punishment of 
political offenses, etc., were popular, especially in the provinces. 
The clergy were favorable to him. The soldiers, in the autumn of 
1850, began to shout '■'Vive PEmpereur /" Changarnier was 
removed from the command of the troops (Jan., 185 1) when it 
was learned that his regiments did not join in the cry. Move- 
ments of this kind, together with petitions for a revision of the 
constiiution, provoked hostility in the Assembly. The struggle 
between the president and that body culminated in the " Coup 
d^Etaf of December 2, 185 1. St. Arnaud hsid been appointed 
minister of war, the fidelity of the troops in Paris rendered sure, 
and all needful preparations made with profound secrecy. The 
president gave a great party on the night of the first. During the 
night, the republican and Orleanist leaders — Cavaignac, Chan- 
garnier, Lamoriciere, Thiers, Victor Hugo, and many others — 
were surprised in their beds, and imprisoned. They were sent 
away in custody to different places. Placards were posted, dis- 
solving the Assembly, and declaring Paris in a state of siege ; also, 
an address submitting to the people the question whether there 
should be a responsible chief of state for ten years. The soldiers 
fired on gatherings of the people in the streets, killing many inno- 
cent persons, for the purpose of forestalling any attempt at resist- 
ance. The deputies, as they persisted in their purpose to meet, 
were surrounded, and placed under arrest. Within a few weeks 
many thousands of persons suspected of disaffection were exiled 
or imprisoned. Nearly seven and a half million votes were cast 
for Napoleon, and only 647,292 against him. The political pris- 
oners were released. Thiers was allowed to return to Paris. 

New French Empire. — A new constitution was promulgated 
(Jan. 14, 1852), resembling that which existed under the con- 
sulate. The Legislative Assembly was virtually stripped of power. 



EUROPE FROM 1848 TO 1866. 5/1 

One year later, the restoration of the Empire was decreed, and 
sanctioned by popular vote. The change was at first viewed with 
alarm by Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Francis Joseph made a 
visit to Berlin, and was received with great honor. The two 
principal German sovereigns reviewed the troops of Berlin, in 
front of the bronze statue of Blikher. But Napoleon declared 
that the Empire meant peace, and the other great powers followed 
the example of England in recognizing his imperial government. 

The Crimean War. — The administration of the French emperor 
was acceptable to the commercial classes, who prized tranquillity. 
He erected new edifices in Paris, and made many other improve- 
ments, which, however, had an eye to defense against popular 
insurrection, and involved much hardship for the poor. He mar- 
ried (Jan. 30, 1853) a young Spanish countess, Eugenie Montijo. 
What did most to give stability to his power, and to raise his repute 
in Europe, was the union of France with England in the prosecu- 
tion of the Crimean war. The Emperor Nicholas thought the 
time propitious for the aggressive ambition of Russia with regard 
to Turkey. His plan of attack embraced a " provisional " occu- 
pation of Constantinople by Russian troops. He had intimated to 
England that the situation of "the sick man" — meaning the de- 
caying government of Turkey — opened the way for" a division of 
the Turkish Empire between the two powers. Lord Aberdeen was 
then prime minister in England, and Mr. Gladstone was chancellor 
of the exchequer. The dispute of Russia with Turkey, which 
was the ostensible occasion of the war, related to the holy places 
in Jerusalem, the resort of worshipers of different creeds, and to 
the privileges accorded by the Sultan to the Greek and Latin Chris- 
tians respectively. The claim of Nicholas resolved itself into a 
demand to exercise a sole protectorate over the Christians of the 
Greek faith in the Turkish Empire. Without formally declaring 
war his forces crossed the Pruth. Alarm was awakened in Austria, 
in consequence of the Russian movements in that region. Nicholas 
had only been able to secure neutrality from Prussia and Austria. 
Louis Napoleon was anxious for war. Lord Aberdeen was averse 
to it ; but the pressure of Lord Palmerston and his supporters was 
too strong, and war was declared (March 27, 1854) by England 
and France in aUiance with Turkey. At first the Turks had un- 
expectedly gained advantages over the Russians, but the Turkish 
fleet was destroyed at Sinope (Nov. 30, 1853). Approaches of 
Russia which portend the acquisition of the mouths of the Danube, 
or of any of the Slavonic districts of European Turkey, can only 
excite jealousy and apprehension on the side of Austria. Nicholas, 
on the demand oi Francis Joseph, which was seconded hy Prussia, 
evacuated the Danubian principalities, which were provisionally 
held by Austrian forces. The English and French fleets that were 



572 MODERN HISTORY. 

sent into the Baltic did not produce the effect that was anticipated 
by the aUies. The shores of the Black Sea were the main theater 
of the conflict. The troops of the English and French landed at 
Eupatoria in the Crimea in September, 1854, and defeated the 
Russians in the battle of the Abna. There was a second engage- 
ment at Balaklava (Oct. 25) ; and in the battle of Iiikennann 
(Nov. 5) the attempt of the Russians to surprise the British forces 
met with a defeat. The effort of the alhes was directed to the 
capture of the strong fortress of Sebastopol. St. Af-naud, the 
French general, had died, and been succeeded by Canroberf. 
Later, Lo7'd Raglan, the English commander, died. The siege 
was prolonged. Once the batteries of Malakoff and Redan were 
attacked by the allies unsuccessfully; but, after a month's bom- 
bardment, both were taken by storm (Sept. 8, 1855), and Mala- 
koff, which the French took, was held. The Russians blew up 
their forts at Sebastopol, and withdrew to the northern part of the 
fortress. Meantime Nicholas had died (March 2, 1855), and 
been succeeded by Alexander II. ; and Lo7'd Aberdeen had been 
superseded by Palnierston as head of the English ministry. 

Peace of Paris (March 30, 1856). — In the Peace of Paris, 
Russia was obliged to cede the mouths of the Danube and a small 
portion of Bessarabia to Moldavia, to limit the number of her 
ships in the Black Sea, and to engage to establish no arsenals on 
its coast. The Black Sea was to be open to commerce, but inter- 
dicted to vessels of war. Russia gave up the claim to an exclu- 
sive protectorate over Christians in Turkey. She surrendered also 
the fortress of Ka7's in Turkish Armenia, which she had captured. 
Wallachia and Moldavia were confirmed in important privileges 
of self-government, under the Porte. Austria, France, and Great 
Britain, in a distinct treaty, guaranteed the independence and in- 
tegrity of the Ottoman Empire. 

Neutrality Declarations. — The parties to the Treaty of Paris (including Austria 
and Prussia) united in four declarations on the subject of neutrality, by which privateering was 
abolished, the neutral flag was made'to protect enemy's goods except contraband of war, these 
goods under an enemy's flag were exempted from capture, and it was ordained that blockades in 
order to be binding must be effective. The United States declined to concur in this agreement 
unless the private property of subjects or citizens of a belligerent power (unless it be contra- 
band of war) should be also exempted from seizure by armed vessels of the enemy. This rule, 
were it adopted, would put private property on the sea on a level with private property on the 
land, in case of war. 

War of France and Sardinia with Austria. — After the con- 
tests of 1848-49, Victor Emmanuel II. was looked on by all 
except the ardent republicans of the school of Mazzini as the 
champion of Italian independence. He made Azeglio his chief 
minister, and Cavoiir his minister of commerce. Various reforms 
were adopted, especially for the reduction of the power and wealth 
of ecclesiastics. The rapid progress of administrative changes led 
Azeglio to withdraw from office. Cavour, his successor, a states- 



EUROPE FROM 1848 TO 1866. 573 

man of broad views and consummate ability, began to plan not 
only for the Sardinian kingdom, but likewise for all Italy, By his 
advice, Sardinia joined England and France in the Crimean war. 
At the Congress of Paris (1856), he spread before the European 
powers the deplorable misgovernment at Naples and in the other 
states of Southern Italy. He denounced a plot against the life of 
Louis Napoleon, which Orsini, a Roman, and a member of a secret 
society, tried to carry out, but failed (Jan. 14, 1858). Communi- 
cations and a personal interview between Napoleon and Cavour 
followed. An alliance was formed, one of the objects of which 
was the expulsion of the Austrians from Italy. Prince Napoleon, 
the son of Louis Napoleon's \xxic\t Je7'ome, was married to Clotilde, 
the daughter of Victor Emmanitel. Napoleon's ministers were op- 
posed to a war with Austria, and he himself affected to have no 
intention of that kind. Russia proposed a congress ; but Austria 
refused to admit Sardinia, or to join it herself, unless that power 
should immediately disarm. Russia was at that moment unfriendly 
to Austria, which had refused to help the Czar in the Crimean war. 
Prussia, also, showed a disinclination to interfere. France and 
Sardinia declared war against Austria, and Napoleon proclaimed 
that he would free Italy, from the Alps to the Adriatic (May, 1859). 
As the war began, a revolt broke out in Tuscany. The Tuscan Duke, 
the 'Duchess regent of Parma, and the Duke of Modena, had to 
fly from their capitals. Cavour accepted help from all Italian 
patriots except the adherents of Mazzini, to whom were imputed 
schemes of assassination. Garibaldi led the " Riflemen of the 
Alps." Louis Napoleon commanded the French army in person. 
The French were victorious at Magenta (June 4), where MacMa- 
hon was made a marshal. At the battle of Solferino (June 24), all 
of the three contending sovereigns were present. The Austrians 
were vanquished with very heavy losses. At this time Napoleon, 
unexpectedly to his Italian ally, in a personal interview with Fra7icis 
Joseph at Villafranca, arranged preliminaries of peace, which pro- 
vided, to be sure, for the cession of Lombardy to Sardinia, but 
left Venice and the "Quadrilateral," — as the district, with its forti- 
fications, east of the Mincio, was called, — under the Austrian rule. 
It was proposed that an Italian confederation should be formed, 
with the Pope for its honorary president, — a plan not destined 
to be realized. The Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of 
Modena were to be restored, could it be done without a resort 
to arms. Napoleon was afraid of a long war. Russia was not 
disposed to suffer him to stir up a revolution in Hungary. Prussia 
might soon intervene ; and this, Austria, too, did not anticipate 
without anxiety, since Prussia would thereby become predominant 
in Germany. Cavour, in disgust and indignation at this premature 
close of the struggle, laid down his office. 



574 ^MODERN HISTORY. 

Further Extension of the Sardinian Kingdom. — Tuscany, Mo- 
dena, and Parma, and Romagna which belonged to the Pope, by 
deputies implored Victor Emmanuel to annex them to his king- 
dom. Pius IX. made the most strenuous opposition. Napoleon 
refused to use coercion, or to suffer it to be used by others, to 
carry out the Villafranca arrangements in the duchies. Cavour 
was recalled to office in i860; and at his suggestion, made to 
Napoleon, the communities just named were allowed to dispose 
of themselves by popular vote. The result was their incorpo- 
ration in the Sardinian kingdom. By way of compensation to 
Napoleon, Savoy and Nice were ceded by the Sardinian govern- 
ment to France. The Pope excommunicated all invaders and 
usurpers of the Papal States, without the mention of names. 

Annexing of Naples and Sicily. — The next great event in 
Italy was the expulsion of Francis 11. , the tyrant who reigned in 
Naples and Sicily after the death of Ferdinand II. (1859). Gari- 
baldi, without the consent of the Sardinian government, raised the 
standard of revolt in Sicily (i860), and conquered the island. 
The king and Cavoicr feared that his movement would give control 
to the repubhcans, and also bring Sardinia into war with other 
powers. But, despite this opposition. Garibaldi entered Naples 
as a victor, and was joined by Mazzini. The Sardinian troops 
entered the Papal States, which the king had threatened to do 
unless the guerilla attacks of pontifical troops in the south were 
suppressed. The French general, Lamoriciere, in the service of 
the pontiff, was defeated at Castelfidardo. Garibaldi, triumphant 
in the Neapolitan kingdom, met Victor Emmanuel in the Abruzzi, 
and hailed him as " King of Italy." Naples and Sicily voted to 
join the kingdom of Sardinia. With the exception of Venice and 
the Roman Campagna, the whole of Italy was now united under the 
house of Savoy. On Feb. 18, 1861, the first parliament of united 
Italy was opened by Cavour. Shortly after, there was a public 
reconciliation between him and Garibaldi, between whom there 
had been an estrangement. 

In addition to Gm'ibaldi's general and constant dissent from the moderate 
policy of Cavour, the former was displeased that his soldiers had not been 
rewarded with higher positions in the Sardinian army than it was practicable 
or safe to grant to them. Cavour believed that society was on the march 
towards democracy, but that no republic, at the present, in Italy could be 
stable. Cavour had his heart set on gaining Rome for the capital of the 
kingdom, and on establishing " a free church in a free state." He did not 
live to see the realization of his hopes. His death occurred (May 30, 1861), 
shortly after the amicable interview with the republican patriot, to which 
reference has just been made. 

"The September Convention." — The hope of the national 
party in Italy was now directed towards the gaining of Venice and 
Rome. But, as regards Austria, the European powers would not 



EUROPE FROM 1848 TO 1866. 575 

have suffered a breach of the Peace of Villafranca. Louis Napo- 
leon had assumed the part of protector of the Holy See, and a 
French garrison was stationed at Rome. After Cavour's death, 
Ricasoli, the head of the ministry, led the constitutional party ; 
and Ratazzi, who succeeded him and had been more in sympathy 
with the Garibaldians, did not deviate from his predecessor's cau- 
tious policy. The relations of the Italian government to France, 
even obliged the king to interfere to put down a rising, set on foot 
by Garibaldi, for driving the French out of Rome. Garibaldi 
was defeated by the Sardinian troops at Aspromonte (Aug. 27, 
1862), and taken to Spezzia. Thence he went to Caprera. The 
liberal party in Europe were incensed with Louis Napoleon. This 
was one inducement that moved him to enter into an agreement 
with Victor Er7imanuel, by which France engaged to withdraw her 
troops gradually from Rome, leaving the Pope to form an army 
of his own ; while, on the other hand, the king engaged (Sept. 
1864) to prevent any attack on the papal territory. The French 
minister of foreign affairs said to the Italian minister at Paris, 
" Naturally the result of all this will be that you will end by going 
to Rome ; " but matters were to be so managed that France 
should not be held responsible. This was the September Conven- 
tion. Florence was made the capital of Italy ; but it was acknowl- 
edged that this was a temporary arrangement, and that, as soon as 
the progress of events should open the way, the seat of government 
would be transferred to Rome. After the withdrawal of the French 
troops in 1866, Garibaldi, with the connivance of the Italian gov- 
ernment, — in which Ratazzi, who had been obliged to leave his 
office, was again the ruling spirit, — once more gathered a force 
for the capture of Rome (1867) ; but France interfered, and the 
advance of Garibaldi was checked at Me?itana by French troops. 
Afterwards Napoleon again placed a French garrison in Rome. 
Ratazzi, whose scheme of capturing Rome by non-interference 
was balked, had to lay down his office. The next step towards 
Italian unity was to be a result of the Austro-Prussian war. 



CHAPTER IV. 



EUROPE, FROM THE BEGINNING OP THE AUSTRO-PRUS- 
SIAN "WAR TO THE END OP THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 
(1866-1871). 

Rivalship of Prussia and Austria. — The brief but mighty strug- 
gle which secured for Prussia the preponderance in Germany grew 
immediately out of complications respecting Schleswig-Holstein. 
It was, however, the fruit of a rivalship which had been gaining 



576 MODERN HISTORY. 

in intensity since the times of Frederick the Great. It was the 
grand triumph of Prussia, after a long succession of defeats and 
humiUations in the field of diplomacy. 

Schleswig-Holstein. — The two duchies of Holstein and Schles- 
wig had long been annexed to the crown of Denmark, whose king, 
as Duke of Holstein, was a member of the German Confederation. 
The two duchies, as regards their government, did not stand on 
the same footing ; but the people of Holstein and the German 
portion of the Schleswig people held that by a treaty in 1460 the 
two duchies could not be separated. Moreover, the law of suc- 
cession in the duchies excluded the female hne, and when there 
was a prospect that the male line of the Danish dynasty would die 
out the Germans wished the duchies to become independent under 
an Augustenburg prince while the Danes wished to absorb the 
duchies in Denmark. In 1848 the Germans of Schleswig-Holstein 
revolted against Frederick VII. The troops of the German con- 
federation assisted them ; but the attitude of England and Russia, 
which favored the Danes, moved Prussia to conclude the armistice 
o{ Malm'd, — an act that excited the anger of the German National 
Assembly at Frankfort. After the expiration of the truce, the war, 
with intermissions, went on, waged by Schleswig-Holstein, alone or 
with aid from Germany ; later in a protocol — an agreement signed 
in London in 1852 by the Great Powers, in which Austria and 
Prussia concurred, — the king of Denmark and his heirs were 
guaranteed in the possession of the duchies. This act, however, 
was not accepted by the duchies themselves, or by the Diet of the 
German Confederation ; so that the seeds of strife still remained. 

Preponderance of Austria. — After the suppression of the re- 
volts of 1848, Austria, whose counsels were guided by the astute 
minister Schwarzenberg, labored to dwarf and supplant the influ- 
ence of Prussia.. Frederick William IV. of Prussia aimed to bring 
about a closer union of German states, and called a national 
parliament to meet at Frfurf. Austria withstood these attempts. 
The disposition of Prussia to support the resistance in Hesse to the 
tyranny of its elector, threatened to bring on an armed contest 
with Austria and its German allies ; but the attitude of Russia 
caused Prussia to desist from its movement. At the conference at 
Olmiitz (1850), Manteuffel, the Prussian minister, yielded every 
thing to Austria ; and subsequently, under the influence of Russia, 
the German Confederation of 18 15 was restored. Prussia took no 
part with the Western powers in the Crimean war, with which it 
had no direct concern, and thus did not, like Austria, make herself 
obnoxious to the Czar. 

William I.: Bismarck. — On the accession of William I. as 
regent (Oct. 1857), the Prussian government initiated a more 
spirited and independent policy in its relations to Austria. It 




/ MONTE- ( \^ 
2'-' f'V riPodgontza 



from Washington 



EUROPE FROM 1866 TO 1871. 577 

refused to lend active aid to that country in the war with France 
and Sardinia (1859). The efficient measures of King William 
for the reorganization and increase of the army encountered con- 
stant opposition, year after year, in the assembly, from the hberal 
party, which did not divine his motives, and saw in them nothing 
but the usurping of an unconstitutional authority. In 1862 the 
king made Bismarck minister of foreign affairs, and the virtual 
head of the administration. This able man had widened his knowl- 
edge of European politics by serving as ambassador first at St. 
Petersburg and then at Paris. Previously he had been allied with 
the absolutist party of Mantetiffel : he was always for "strong 
government." After 185 1, when he was delegate of Prussia at the 
Federal Diet at Frankfort, he made up his mind to deliver Prussia 
from the domineering influence of Austria. But he was held in 
distrust by the Prussian liberals, who saw in him only an energetic 
supporter of the king in his reform of the army by acts of arbi- 
trary power not warranted by the constitution. In 1863 Francis 
Joseph summoned a congress of German princes to Frankfort to 
frame a new German constitution ; but as Prussia stood aloof, 
nothing was accomplished. There was much bitterness between 
the two states. For the moment, however, attention was diverted 
by the aspect of affairs in Schleswig-Holstein. 

Events leading to War. — On March 30, 1863, Frederick 
VII. of Denmark issued a decree for the separation of Schleswig, 
and its incorporation in Denmark. The troops of the German 
Confederacy M'ere sent by the Diet into Holstein. Prussia and 
Austria, who held that the Danes had broken the Treaty of 1852, 
announced their agreement to prosecute the war with Denmark as 
mdependent powers, apart from the confederation. They persisted 
in this purpose, and their victories over the Danes compelled 
Christian IX. to sign a treaty (Oct. 30, 1864) by which he resigned 
his rights in the duchies in favor of the emperor of Austria and 
the king of Prussia. How should the duchies be disposed of? It 
was Bismarck's aim to annex them to Prussia, which was sorely in 
need of seaports. He professed that the war had abrogated the 
London Treaty of 1852. The prime object of Austria was to 
prevent Prussia from making this gain. The dispute was hot and 
threatening; but in the Gastein Convention (Aug. 14, 1865), Lau- 
enburg (which the Danes had also ceded) was sold to Prussia, 
and the disposition of the duchies was left to be determined later. 
Meantime the Prussians were to hold Schleswig, and the Austrians 
Holstein. The Prussians were, moreover, to hold provisionally the 
port of Kiel. The scheme of Austria was to hand over the debated 
question to the Diet of the Confederation, where it could com- 
mand a majority. To this Prussia would not consent, but de- 
manded that the Confederacy should be reconstituted in such a 



5/8 MODERN HISTORY. 

way that Prussia, as well as Germany, might have strength in the 
event of a European war. Bismarck made a secret treaty with Sar- 
dinia, which provided that Prussia and Sardinia should act together 
in case of war with Austria, and that peace should not be made 
until Venetia had been given up to the kingdom of Italy. When 
Austria convoked the estates of Holstein Prussia retorted by send- 
ing twenty thousand troops into Holstein. The Austrian force, 
which was inferior, retired. When the Confederation (June 14) 
passed a motion made by Austria to put the confederate troops, 
not Austrian or Prussian, on a war footing, the Prussian pleni- 
potentiary protested, and declared the Diet dissolved. He also 
presented a new constitution as the basis of a new league of 
states, from which Austria was to be excluded. Prussia issued a 
proclamation, to the effect that the purpose of the war that was 
now to begin was the union of Germany, and the establishment of 
a free parliament of the German nation. 

The Austro-Prussian War. — The Prussian military plans were 
the work of Von Moltke, chief of the general staff, who was with- 
out a superior in military science. They were carried out with 
astonishing precision and celerity. On June 15 Prussia required 
Saxony, Hanover, and Hesse to disarm, to remain neutral, and 
to send delegates to a German parliament. A few hours were 
given them to decide. They refused the demand, and on the 
1 6th the Prussian forces marched into their lands. On that day 
they seized the capital of Hesse, and took the elector prisoner. 
On the 29th they had surrounded King George of Hanover, and 
he was compelled to surrender with his whole army. The main 
Austrian army, under Benedek, made up of contingents from the 
various nations subject to the emperor, with the troops of 
Saxony, one of his German allies, were gathered in Bohemia. 
Thither three Prussian armies moved, on different lines, as they 
were directed by telegraph from Berlin. Several battles occurred. 
The armies approached one another, but were purposely kept 
apart. On June 30 King William and Von Moltke left Berlin. 
On the 2d of July it was determined to attack the Austrians the 
next day ; and word was sent to the crown prince, whose division 
was not so far that he could not bring up his forces to take part in 
the combat. In the morning the battle of Sadowa, in which be- 
tween two hundred thousand and three hundred thousand men 
were in each of the contending hosts, began. It raged until noon, 
with no decisive advantage on either side. At two o'clock the 
division of the crown prince, after a hard march, arrived ; and 
their attack on the flank of the Austrians was the signal for a for- 
ward movement along the whole Prussian line. The battle in its 
course resembled that of Waterloo. The defeat of the Austrians 
virtually decided the whole contest. Francis Joseph asked France 



EUROPE FROM 1866 TO 1871. 579 

to mediate, but Prussia and Italy refused to consent to the pro- 
posal. The Austrian emperor ceded Venice by telegraph to Louis 
Napoleon. The Austrians had defeated the Italians at Cusiozza 
(June 24), and in a naval battle at Lissa. But a great part of the 
Austrian army it was necessary to transfer to the North. 

The Peace of Prague : The Peace of Vienna. — The Peace of 
Prague was concluded between Prussia and Austria (Aug. 23, 
1866). Austria was excluded from Germany, and gave up her 
rights in Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia. At the request of Prussia, 
Venice was ceded to Italy. Schleswig-Holsteiii, Hanover, Hesse- 
Cassel, Nassau, and Frankfort were incorporated in Prussia. The 
population of Prussia from about nineteen millions was increased 
to twenty-three millions five hundred thousand. In the Peace of 
Vienna (Oct. 3), Austria recognized the kingdom of Italy, to which 
Venice had been ceded. 

North German Confederation. — The South German states re- 
mained independent ; but the North German Confederation was 
formed, under the leadership of Prussia, which was to have control 
of the military forces of its members. In the council of the Con- 
federation, Prussia was to have seventeen votes, and the other 
states together twenty-six votes. An imperial Diet was established, 
the members of which were to be elected by general suffrage. 
Bisjnarck was made chancelor of the Confederation. 

The Austro-Hungarian Empire. — The war with Prussia was 
followed by the political reorganization of the Austro-Hungarian 
empire on a more liberal basis. Von Beust, who had been a 
Saxon minister, became minister of foreign affairs (1866), and 
afterwards president of the ministry and chancellor of the empire. 
The Hungarian constitution of 1848 was restored, and a separate 
ministry was constituted for Hungary ; while, as regards the army 
and foreign affairs of both divisions of the empire, an imperial 
ministry was established. The Cisleithaji division, composed of 
the German and Slavonic provinces, was to have its own ministry 
and constitution. This conferred on the people and their repre- 
sentatives "rights and privileges of the greatest importance, — 
equality of all citizens before the law, freedom of the press, right 
of association and meeting, complete hberty of faith and con- 
science, the unrestricted right to impose taxes and levy recruits, 
etc." The reconciliation with Hungary having been effected, 
Francis Joseph was crowned as King of Hungary at Pesth. Tran- 
sylvania and Croatia were united with Hungary. Great legal im- 
provements in Austria ensued. The army was re-constituted after 
the example of the Prussian military system. There was an im- 
provement in financial administration. Marriage by civil contract 
was authorized; and on subjects connected with marriage, the 
clergy were deprived of jurisdiction. The control of education, 



58o MODERN HISTORY. 

except religious education, was assumed by the state. In case of 
marriage between Catholics and Protestants, the male children 
were to be educated according to the faith of the father ; the 
female children, according to that of the mother. 

Louis Napoleon Baffled. — The Austro- Prussian war hastened 
the downfall of Louis Napoleon. The only consolation which the 
French had for the loss of freedom at home was power and reputa- 
tion abroad. The astonishing rapidity of the Prussians, and the 
overwhelming success of their arms, had disconcerted the schemes 
of the French emperor. The defeat of Austria was so quick and 
so complete that he could not come in as mediator between the 
belligerents, and manage to secure the extension of France to its 
"natural frontiers" on the Rhine. He was baffled by Bismarck's 
diplomacy, as before he had been outwitted by Cavour ; for 
Napoleon had wished, not a united Italy, but simply a Northern 
Kingdom. The French felt humiliated at the sight of military 
achievements parallel to those by which in other days they had 
disposed of the fate of Prussia herself The opposing factions 
grew bolder in their attitude towards the Napoleonic government. 
The emperor made cautious attempts to secure cessions of terri- 
tory from Prussia on the Rhine, but was met with a blunt refusal 
from Bismaj'ck. He then sought to purchase from the king of 
Holland, Luxemburg, which had formerly belonged to the German 
Confederation. This attempt was resisted by Prussia, and war 
seemed imminent ; but it was finally settled at the London Con- 
ference, that the duchy should be neutral territory, and that the 
fortress, which had been occupied by the Prussians, should be 
demolished. Germany was making progress towards a more com- 
plete union. A customs parUament, representing all the states, 
met at Berlin in May, 1868. Before that time, treaties of offensive 
and defensive alliance had been made between the North German 
Confederation and Wilrtemberg, Baden, and Bavaria. They were 
published on March 17, 1867. 

Beginning of the Franco-Prussian "War. — As Louis Napoleon, 
or those who held sway in his counsels, were bent on war with 
Prussia, a pretext was easily found. The bad administration of 
Queen Isabella of Spain, and her personal misconduct, caused 
insurrections to break out in 1868 ; and she was obliged to fly to 
France. A provisional government was estabhshed under Gens. 
Serrano and Prim, and Sehor Olozaga. Later (1869) Serrano 
was made regent. The Cortes in 1870 offered the Spanish crown 
to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who belonged to 
a younger branch of King William's family. The proposal was 
regarded in France with indignation, as a new step in the upbuild- 
ing of Prussian power. King William was required to forbid his 
relative's candidacy, which he declined to do. The prince, how- 



EUROPE FROM 1866 TO 187 1. 58 1 

ever, of his own accord withdrew. Not satisfied with this issue of 
the affair, Napoleon insisted that the Prussian king should engage 
never to support the candidacy of a Hohenzollern prince for the 
Spanish crown. William, who was at Ems, told the French 
ambassador, Bejiedetti, that he could not give a promise of this 
sort. When the question was again raised he sent an aide-de- 
camp, decUning to discuss the matter further. This act was repre- 
sented at Paris as an insult to France, and orders were issued to 
mobilize the army. The king, on his way to Berlin, was met at the 
Brandenburg station by the crown prince. Von Moltke, Von Roon, 
the able war minister, and Bismarck. The Confederate Diet 
assembled July 19, and placed its resources at the disposal of the 
king. The French declaration 'of war was received on the same 
day. Bavaria, Wilrtemberg, and the South German States, con- 
trary to the unreasonable expectation of Napoleon, allied them- 
selves with Prussia. In a moment all Germany was ablaze. The 
recollection of the days of the first Napoleon, and of the war of 
liberation, filled the whole land with patriotic enthusiasm. More 
than a million of men took the field in defense of the fatherland. 
Events to Sedan. — At the outset Napoleon tried to modify the 
plans Marshal Niel had drawn up in 1867 for such an emer- 
gency, and which called for three armies. He unwisely attempted 
to unite all the troops under his own command. Had he been 
able by a bold initiative to have gained a foothold in South 
Germany, Italy and Austria would probably have come to his 
support. But the French army was not in the state of full 
readiness which had been alleged to exist. The masterly dispo- 
sitions of Von Moltke, and the swift movements of the Germans, 
broke up the French programme. The three great divisions of 
the German army were led by Steinmetz, Prince Frederick Charles, 
the king's nephew, and the crown prince, Frederick William. 
They advanced towards the boundary from Treves to Landau. 
Three victories of the Germans — at Weissenburg (Aug. 4), 
over Marshal MacMahon at Woi'th (Aug. 6), and at Spicheren 
on the same day — compelled the French army to retreat towards 
the Moselle. The Baden division was left to besiege Strasbu7-g. 
The next great battles, of which Gravelotte (Aug. 18) was the 
most hotly contested, were fought for the purpose of preventing 
Marshal Bazaine from joining with the main army the forces of 
MacMahon. Bazaine was defeated, and confined with his im- 
mense body of troops in and about the fortress oi Metz ; and his 
efforts to break through the German lines were baffled. The Prus- 
sian crown prince and the crown prince of Saxony, with their 
combined armies, proceeded against MacMahon. The defeats of 
the French had occasioned such wrath at Paris, that the ministry 
oi M. Ollivier \N3iS compelled to retire (Aug. 10), and it was not 



582 MODERN HISTORY. 

safe for the emperor, who was with MacMahon, to return to the 
capital. The French general concentrated his forces at Sedan. 
On Sept. I the decisive battle was fought. The French were 
worsted and surrounded. The Emperor Napoleoti yielded his 
sword to King William. The terms of capitulation were agreed 
upon by Von Moltke and Gen. IVimpffen {MacMahoi being 
disabled by a wound), while other matters of a ciWl nature were 
arranged between Napoleon and Bismarck. The army that was 
surrendered numbered eighty-two thousand men, \\ath fifty gen- 
erals and five thousand other officers. 

Siege of Paris: Surrender of Metz. — As soon as the news of 
Sedaji reached Paris, the imperial government fell to pieces. The 
Empress Eugenie escaped to England. A repubhc was proclaimed ; 
and a new government was improvised, composed of enemies of 
the Empire, who belonged to different parties. Trochu was presi- 
dent, and governor of Paris ; Jules Favre, a moderate republican, 
was minister of foreign affairs ; and Ga7?ibetta, an extreme repub- 
hcan, was minister of the interior. The wish was for peace ; but 
the inexorable demand of the Germans for the cession of Alsace 
and Lorrai7ie, once parts of Germany, and now asserted to be 
necessary for its defense against future attack from France, called 
out a united and indignant spirit of resistance. The defense of 
Paris was undertaken vvith extraordinary energy : a large army 
was collected there, and a great supply of provisions was gathered. 
The siege of Paris was prosecuted by the Germans with an equally 
imflinching determination, from Sept. 19, 1870, to Jan. 28, 187 1. 
Repeated- sallies of the French troops, although made -w^th much 
spirit, failed of success. The efforts to break the Prussian fines 
of connection with Paris, and to compel them by movements 
fi-om ^s-ithout to raise the siege, were fikemse baffled. Ga7?ibetta 
escaped from Paris in a baUoon, and at Tours directed in the 
formation of two armies, — the army of the Loire, and the northern 
army, both of which were defeated. Strasburg capitulated (Sept. 
27) ; and a month later (Oct. 27) Bazaine surrendered Metz,wi'&v 
three marshals, three thousand officers, and one hundred and 
se vent)'- three thousand soldiers. The main army of France was 
thus lost. 

William made Emperor: Siurender of Paris. — While the 
siege of Paris was in progress, aU the princes of Germany, and 
the senates of the three fi-ee towns, united in the resolution to 
offer to the President of the Confederation the title of Emperor. 
Accordingly, on Jan. 18, 1871, King William, in the Hall of Mir- 
rors at Versailles, was formally proclaimed Emperor of Germany. 
On the next day Trochu led the final sortie from Paris, of a 
hundred thousand men, which was repulsed after a severe contest. 
The provisions in the city were nearly exhausted, and on Jan. 23 



EUROPE FROM 1866 TO 1871. 583 

an armistice for twenty-one days was signed. Paris surrendered on 
the 28th ; and on the first day of March a national convention at 
Bordeaux accepted the preHminaries of peace, which included the 
cession of Alsace and the German part of Lori-aitie with Metz, 
and the payment of an indemnity of five thousand miUion francs. 
Thiers, who was elected chief of the executive department (Feb. 
17), had managed the negotiations with Bistnarck at Versailles, 
and urged the acceptance of them on the convention. 

The German Imperial Constitution. — The first Diet of the 
new German Empire was opened at Berli^i on March 21. The 
constitution of it left to each state the management of its domestic 
affairs. To the imperial government, with the Federal Council 
or Bundesrath, the Reichstag, and the emperor were relegated the 
affairs of common interest. The president of the Council was 
the imperial chancellor : Bismarck was appointed to that office. 
The Reichstag was composed of deputies chosen by general suf- 
frage. The chancellor is not responsible to the Reichstag, but to 
the emperor. Power has not passed from the monarch to the 
representatives of the people. 

Contest •with the Communists : Republican Constitution. — After 
the conditions of peace with the Germans were settled, Paris had 
to pass through a terrible period of disorder. The coftwiimists 
were bent on establishing municipal independence, or the self-gov- 
ernment of the Comimme, and a democratic republic. They de- 
manded a federation of the townships, or comimmes, and distrusted 
the republicanism of the officials who were in the exercise of power. 
They are not to be confounded with co?ni7iu?iists in the socialistic 
sense : only a small fraction of the communal government, or 
central committee, wqtq socialists. The party comprised a multi- 
tude of fanatical democrats of the lower classes, who were ready 
for the most violent measures. They had risen several times dur- 
ing the siege of Paris, and had tried to seize on power, but had 
been put down by the troops. After the surrender of Paris, they 
gained possession of the northern part of the city, and fortified it. 
The attempt to get back the cannon which they had seized caused 
a great communist uprising (March 18, 1871). A new reign of 
terror began. Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris, and many others, 
were murdered. MacMahon, acting for the Assembly, besieged 
Paris anew ; the Germans being neutral in the forts that were stiU 
left, according to the treaty, in their hands. In the fierce struggle 
for the possession of the city, the principal buildings of Paris were 
set on fire by the savage communistic mob. The Tuileries, the 
Hotel de Ville, and a part of the Palais Royal, with other pubUc 
edifices, were destroyed. The insurrection was at length sup- 
pressed, and severe punishments were inflicted. A large number 
of the ringleaders were either shot or transported. 



584 MODERN HISTORY. 



CHAPTER V. 

EUROPE, THE THIRD FRENCH REPUBLIC, AND THE 
UNION OF ITALY (1871-). 

Completed Union of Italy. — When the war between Prussia 
and France broke out, the republicans in Italy were disposed to 
take possession of Rome at once. Mazzini urged them to this 
step. The king, however, was bound by the agreement with 
France to prevent this action ; which, moreover, might have 
divided, instead of uniting, Italy. Mazzini was arrested, and sent 
to Gaeta. But with the fall of Napoleon, on the declaration of 
Jules Favre that the " September Convention " (p. 5 74) was at an 
end, Victor Emmanuel, professing that he was bound to maintain 
order in the peninsula, sent his troops into Rome. The Pope lost 
his temporal dominions, and was limited to the title and preroga- 
tives of the spiritual head of the Catholic Church. The seat of 
the Italian government was removed to the ancient capital (July 
1 , 1 8 7 1 ) . The present king, Umberto I., ascended the throne 1878. 

Pius IX. : the Council of the Vatican. — The long pontificate 
of Pius IX. was distinguished by important acts having relation to 
the doctrine and discipline of the Roman Catholic Church. In 
1854 he promulgated the declaration of the Immaculate Concep- 
tion of the Virgin Mary. He thus determined authoritatively a 
question which had long been debated in the schools of theology. 
Ten years later (1864) he issued an Encyclical, together with a 
Syllabu's of Errors, in which, besides the condemnation of opinions 
in matters of faith which were adjudged heterodox, various alleged 
encroachments of the civil authority and heretical views respect- 
ing the control of the state in reference to marriage, education, 
etc., were denounced. The views thus condemned are such as the 
kingdom of Belgium had recognized, and France and some other 
Roman Catholic countries have shown themselves willing to accept. 
In 1869 the CEcumenical Council of the Vatican assembled, and 
after long debate sanctioned the doctrine of papal infallibility; 
that is, they promulgated the dogma that the Pope, when address- 
ing the whole Church on a subject of morals or theology, is kept 
by the Spirit of God from enunciating error. 

"Old Catholics." — Most of those who had strenuously endeavored to 
prevent this action, either because they considered it inexpedient, or dis- 
believed in the doctrine which it established, acquiesced in the decision of the 
council. There were some persevering dissentients, however, in Germany 
especially, of whom Dr. Dollinger was the most distinguished. They organ- 
ized themselves as a distinct body, under the name of " Old Catholics." 
They were mostly educated persons ; the party had no root among the com- 
mon people. In France, the most distinguished of them was VhxtHyacmthe, 
a preacher of much popularity and eloquence. 



longitude West 4 from Greenwich 2 



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Xongitude 



East fronv 



1 Longitude East 6 Irom Greenwich S 



y y |r> ^BRUSSELS 

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r! '^-^ 

,-^Valencier/i3e: 



FEANCE 




, Vecchio 

CORSICA 

'''''"it of\R^ffacm Same Sciili 



EUROPE (1871-1890). 585 

Revolutions in Spain. — After the revolution attended by the 
flight of Queen Isabella from Spain (1868), a majority of the Cortes 
decided for a monarchy, although many desired a republic. In 
1870 Amadens, the second son of the King of Italy, accepted the 
crown. But he found it impossible to restore order and peace, 
and Feb. 11, 1873, abdicated the throne. A bloody conflict of 
factions ensued. Don Carlos, the new Pretender of that name, 
raised his standard in the North. The Cortes were for a federal 
republic. Castelar, who as president was at the head ot the gov- 
ernment, and after him Marshal Serrano, by whom he was super- 
seded, made no decisive progress against the Carlists. Alfonso, 
the youthful son of Isabella, was proclaimed king by General 
Martinez Campos; and the army pronounced in his favor (Dec. 
29, 1874). Serrano laid down his office. The Carlist revolt was 
crushed, and Don Carlos driven out of the country. Alfonso died 
1885, and was succeeded by a regency during the long minority of 
his posthumous son, Alfonso XIII. Both Canovas and Sagasta loy- 
ally supported the queen- mother, Maria Christina, acting as regent. 

State of the Ottoman Empire. — In July, 1875, the Turkish 
provinces of Herzegozmia and Bosnia rebelled against the intolera- 
ble oppression of the Sultan's government. The little mountainous 
kingdom of Montenegro — which for four centuries had preserved 
its independence through numerous struggles with Turkey, and had 
a quarrel of its own with that power — lent help to its Slavonian 
neighbor. Servia did the same. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, 
a composite of distinct provinces and nationalities, was strongly 
interested to avert war in that region. The revolt was not put 
down by the Turks. The three European emperors moved the 
Sultan to pledge himself to an extensive programme of reforms in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, — a pledge which there was no intention 
on his part to fulfill. England gave no aid to the revolt, but 
strengthened herself in the East by obtaining, through a purchase 
of shares from the Khedive of Egypt, the control of the Suez 
Canal (Nov. 25, 1875). Russia, as kinsman of aU the Slavonic 
peoples, and protector of Greek Christians, assumed alone the part 
of a champion of the maltreated provinces. But England refused 
to join with Russia, Germany, Austria, and France, in threatening 
"more effectual" — that is, coercive — measures, in case of the 
Porte's refusal to pacify the insurgents by carrying out his promises. 
Great Britain was bent on keeping the Sultan's empire, as being a 
barrier in the way of Russian ambition and essential to the security 
of India, from being dismembered, and professed to be swayed by 
respect for the rights of Turkey as an independent power. A 
revolt in Bulgaria was crushed by the Turks, who were guilty of 
such terrible atrocities that the "Bulgarian massacres" shocked 
all Christendom (1876). In the course of the difficulties just 



586 MODERN HISTORY. 

narrated, two revolutions, by which suhans had been dethroned, 
had taken place in the palace at Constantinople. The ambassa- 
dors of the Great Powers, in a conference at Constantinople, 
agreed in demanding of Turkey a constitution and guaranties for 
the benefit of the oppressed subjects in the provinces of the Otto- 
man Empire. This requirement the Porte refused to accept. A 
subsequent attempt of the same nature met with no better suc- 
cess (1877). Russia allowed its subjects to render effective help 
to the revolted districts. On the contrary, England was offended 
by the alleged ambitious schemes of the Muscovites, and advocated 
longer forbearance with the Sultan ; but Lord Derby announced 
(April 19, 1877) that Turkey had been warned to expect no assist- 
ance from England. Nevertheless, the mission of Mr. Layard to 
Constantinople, and all the other circumstances, emboldened the 
Turks to refuse compliance with the Czar's demands. 

The Russo-Turkish War. — The Turko- Russian war began in 
April, 1877. Russia, according to her previous declaration, took 
up arms alone. The Russian troops crossed the Danube and the 
Balkan Mountains, and seized on the important Shipka Pass. At 
first they seemed destined to a speedy triumph. But the Turks 
under Osman Pasha fought with unexpected valor and success. 
At length, however, their leader was obliged to surrender his army 
of . forty-four thousand men at Plevna (Dec. 10). Adrianople was 
occupied by the Russians (Jan, 28). They were thus in the neigh- 
borhood of Constantinople. Meantime, after reverses in the East, 
the Russians had taken Kars, and pushed on to Erzeroum. 

Treaty of San Stefano : The Berlin Conference. — Turkey now 
appealed to England to mediate ; but Russia declined any such 
intervention, and insisted on treating separately with Turkey. Eng- 
land was now ready to interfere in behalf of the Sultan, and for 
the safety of Constantinople. Russia hastened to conclude with 
Turkey the Peace of San Stefano (March 3), the stipulations of 
which greatly reduced the Turkish power in Europe. Bulgaria was 
to be governed by a Christian prince, and fifty thousand Russian 
troops were to occupy it for two years. England concluded (June 
4) a secret treaty engaging to protect Turkey in Asia : Cyprus was 
given up to be occupied by the British. Austria, as well as Great 
Britain, was anxious to deprive Russia of the advantages which she 
had naturally expected to reap by the war, — a war in which the 
other powers had declined to take part. Thus another great war 
was threatened, about the provisions of the San Stefano treaty. 
The conflict was averted by the Congress at Berlin (June 13- 
July 13, 1878), where DPsraeli — who was then prime minister, 
and a friend of the anti-Russian pohcy — represented England. 
Austria and England were aided by Germany, and the diplomacy 
of Gortchakoff was thus overborne. Servia and Roumania, as 



EUROPE SINCE 1871. 587 

well as Montenegro, were declared independent. Bulgaria was 
divided into two portions ; the southern of which, called East 
Romnelia, was to be governed by the Sultan directly, but with a 
separate administration under a Christian governor. To Austria, 
the military occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which meant 
the possession of these provinces, was yielded. Thessaly had en- 
gaged in an insurrection, and Greece had hoped for an extension 
of her boundaries ; but nothing effectual was done by England to 
forward this claim. Here Russia, always opposed to the building- 
up of a strong Greek kingdom, was at one with England. Russia 
obtained Kars, but her gains were far less than she deemed herself 
entitled to receive. The other powers, on the contrary, permitted 
Austria to advance far in the direction of Constantinople. During 
the war, the hostility of the Magyars (or Hungarians proper) 
to the Slaves had been ready to break out in the form of direct 
armed assistance to Turkey. On the other hand, the Slaves in 
Hungary, and in all the Austrian territories, were with difficulty 
restrained from enlisting actively in aid of the Russians. The 
arbitrary dealing of the Berlin Conference with Bosnia and Her- 
zegovina occasioned an armed but ineffectual resistance, in these 
provinces, to the extension of the Austrian sway over them. 

Situation of Russia. — Russia, embittered by Austria's refusal 
to aid in the Crimean War, had remained neutral in the struggle 
with Prussia, which ended in the exclusion of Austria from Ger- 
many. Russia was now offended with Germany for repaying her 
neutrality in the Franco-Prussian struggle by helping in the BerHn 
Conference the schemes of England and Austria. The attempt 
of Russia to form an alliance with France prompted Bismarck 
(Sept., 1879) to negotiate a defensive alliance with Austria. The 
activity of the Nihilists, and the refusal of France (March, 1880) 
to deliver up Hartmajin, charged with an attempt on the life of 
the Czar, made the French alliance impossible. The sympathy 
of the Emperor William, after the endeavor made to assassinate 
Alexander (Feb. 17, 1880), tended to restore cordiality. Russia 
was embarrassed by these internal troubles. Alexander was mur- 
dered by Nihilists (March 13, 1881), and was succeeded by his 
son, Alexander III., who died after a Hngering illness, Nov. i, 1894. 
He was succeeded by his son Nicholas II. In 1891 and 1892 
Russia was afflicted by famine and cholera. 

Nihilism. — The accession oi Alexander II., io^oyNvag on the 
rigid autocracy of Nicholas, had introduced a more lenient rule. 
Alexander ^^zx^Q.^ (March 3, 1861) the emancipation of the serfs, 
who were also endowed with small possessions in land. The boon 
thus conferred, along with its advantages, brought with it hardship; 
for there were ways of oppression still open to the nobles, by which 
the emancipated class were made grievously to suffer. The great 



588 MODERN HISTORY. 

measure served to increase the national agitation which was con- 
nected with other causes. There had long been an enthusiastic 
party of "Slavophils," actuated by a strong race-feeling, and eager 
for "Panslavism," or a union of Slavonic peoples. It was the peo- 
ple in Russia which moved the court, against its will, to go to war, 
single-handed, with Turkey, in 1877. In the prosecution of the 
war, the abuses which were brought to light among officials, civil 
and military, heightened the indignation which the corrupt " bu- 
reaucracy " — the administration by departments, each under its 
chief — provoked. The failure to gather the harvest of the war, 
of which Russia was deprived by diplomacy, increased the popular 
unrest. A party of socialistic democracy, a revolutionary party, 
had developed itself as early as 1874. The way had been pre- 
paring for it for a decade of years. Out of this party came later 
(1878) the "Terrorists," — the secret body which sought for a 
remedy for social and governmental evils by annihilating all exist- 
ing authority in Church and State. They had begun with the 
demand of a constitution. The despotic, repressive measures of 
the government — in 1879 and 1880, sixty thousand persons were 
sent to Sibe?'ia without a trial — were followed by more desperate 
attempts of Nihilist conspirators upon the lives of the rulers of 
the land, and of their agents. These culminated in the murder 
of the Czar. 

Communism and Socialism. — A brief sketch of the various move- 
ments thus designated may be here in place. Commimism is the name given 
to the theory that it is desirable to have a community of goods, and a total 
or partial abolition of private property. Socialism is often used to designate 
the same system, but is more commonly applied to the doctrine that gov- 
ernment should own the land and all the implements of industry. Not a few 
religious sects of communists, like the Shakers (established in 1780, in the 
United States), have long existed. The hope of social amelioration by soci- 
eties of a communistic character has led to a variety of movements for the 
formation of them on both sides of the Atlantic. Equality, education, deliv- 
erance from poverty and from burdensome toil, have been the blessings 
sought. Prominent leaders in such movements were Saint-Simon (1760- 
1825), whose ideas produced a strong effect in France; Charles Fourier 
(1772-1837), by whose influence "phalanxes," as the communities adopting 
his views were named, were formed in Europe and America; and Robert 
Owen (1771-1858), whose societies were built up at Nezv Lanark in Scotland, 
New Hartno7iy in Indiana, and in other places. Since the French Revolu- 
tion of 1S48, these particular attempts of philanthropic socialism have passed 
out of notice. Shortly after the Reign of Terror, ^a/w// attempted (1796) to 
overthrow the authorities in Paris, and to bring to pass an equal division of 
property. The course of political struggles in France, in connection with 
the revolutions in industry and trade, which have occurred since the fall of 
the first Napoleon, have given rise to a disaffected working-class, ox proleta- 
riat. The complaint has arisen, that the benefits resulting from political 
freedom in Europe have come to the middle class, — to tradesmen and man- 
ufacturers possessed of capital, — and that the laboring class are deprived of 
their due share of the profits of industry. One noted expounder of commu- 
nism in France was Proudhon (1809-1S65), who sought to give emphasis to 



EUROPE (1871-1890). 589 

his doctrine by affirming that " property is theft." Louis Blanc, who was a 
member of the provisional government in France in 1848, both before and 
after that time was an active promoter of the scheme under which govern- 
ment is to furnish labor on a large scale, and to become the grand employer 
of the working-class. In Germany, socialism in its later distinctive form, as 
defined above, has been advocated by a number of well-known writers. Per- 
haps the ablest of these was Ferdinand Lasalle (1825-1864). Like the other 
principal socialists, he would clothe the State with a vastly augmented power 
and responsibility. In this particular, socialism is directly antagonistic to 
the ideas of democracy which had previously prevailed. Lasalle's doctrine 
was that the State should lend capital at interest to associations of laborers. 
This, he thought, would be the first step in their emancipation. Karl Marx 
would go much farther. He would transfer to the State all capital and all 
means of production. He would, as he professes, "overthrow all the ex- 
isting arrangements of society." With property, inheritance is to be abol- 
ished; labor is to be made compulsory; all means of transport are to be 
in the hands of the State, and so forth. The International Working Men^s 
Association — popularly called " the International" — was organized in Lon- 
don in 1864. It has held congresses in Geneva, and in other cities. It 
entered upon the most destructive schemes of social agitation and revolution. 
But the society was divided in 1872, on the expulsion of Bakiinin, a Russian 
Nihilist. A faction of the most violent class continued its activity for a while, 
and stirred up risings in several towns in Spain in 1873, ^'^ imitation of the 
insurrections in Paris in 1S71. Different shades of socialistic theory have 
been advocated; from the " Christian Socialism " which aims at such objects 
as the creation of cooperative associations in the working-class, to the fanat- 
ics who would sweep away existing institutions by violence, and who resort 
to the use of dynamite as a means of inspiring terror. 

The French Republic since 1871. — Thiers had wonderful suc- 
cess in providing for the payment of the German indemnity. His 
term of office was prolonged (Aug. 31, 187 1) for three years, with 
the title of President. Thiers had cooperated with MacMahon in 
crushing the commune, and in wholesome measures for the preser- 
vation of order. An adverse vote in the Assembly (May 24, 1873) 
caused his resignation. This was effected by a combination of 
the monarchical parties. MacMahon, his successor, took a very 
conservative position. The monarchists united to restore the 
Cotint of Chambord to the throne as Heiiry F., but the scheme 
failed. In February, 1875, ^ '^^^^ constitution, of a conservative 
republican cast, was established, which provided for a president 
and a cabinet, a senate, and a chamber of deputies. The legiti- 
mists, Orleanists, and imperialists united with the president in 
his reactionary, anti-republican policy. The whole clerical party 
were on that side. The repubhcans were divided among them- 
selves, the most radical group being under the leadership of Gam- 
betta. The danger to the republic compelled a common policy. 
One of the great subjects of controversy related to public educa- 
tion, in the management of which the Church and the clergy 
desired to retain and extend their influence and control. To secu- 
larize education, was a main aim of the body of the republicans. 
The success of the republicans, against extraordinary efforts made 



590 MODERN HISTORY. 

to defeat them, in the elections of 1877, at last prevailed on the 
marshal-president to accept the verdict of the country ; and late 
in the year a republican cabinet was formed. The measures of 
Jtcles Ferry and his supporters, for taking the business of instruc- 
tion out of the hands of ecclesiastics and of the clerical orders, 
although most earnestly resisted by Bishop Dupanloup and the 
whole clerical party, and opposed by a section of the republicans 
led hy Jules Simon, were, after heated contention, adopted, and 
were completely carried out (1880). The death of Thiers (Sept., 
1877) did not weaken the party of which he was the most honored 
leader. The death of the young Prince Loiiis Napoleon (1879) 
in South Africa, where he was serving, under the British, against 
the Zulus, was an almost fatal blow to the hopes of the Bonapart- 
ist faction. The more recent death of Count Chambord (1883) 
was followed by the recognition, on the part of the legitimists, of 
the Count of Paris, of the Orleans house, as the next heir to the 
throne. A manifesto of Prince Jerome Napoleon (1883), after 
the death of the young Prince Napoleoji, aroused an agitation 
against all pretenders to the throne, — in particular, against the 
Orleanists ; which led, after protracted debates, to the forced 
retirement of all the princes of this family from active service in 
the French army. In November, 1881, Gambetta became the 
head of the cabinet ; but the opposition to his policy within the 
republican ranks was stronger than had been anticipated. After 
a short time he laid down his office. He died Dec. 31, 1882. 
Jules Grevy (first elected Jan. 30, 1879) was re-elected president 
Dec. 28, 1885. He was forced to resign in 1887 because his 
son-in-law was impUcated in corrupt transactions. His successor 
was Sadi Camot. 

French Conquests abroad. — The failure of France, in the Orien.- 
tal difficulties, to gain the power which she desired, impelled her 
to build up colonial interests and settlements. Partly to punish 
marauding tribes, in 1881, an expedition was sent against Tunis ; 
and the 'Bey was forced to accept a protectorate of the French over 
his dominion. Thus the French enlarged their power in Africa. 
This proceeding gave great offense to England, Italy, and the 
Turkish Sultan. On the ground of a treaty of 1841, a French 
admiral demanded the submission of the north-west coast of 
Madagascar to a French protectorate ; and when this demand was 
refused, he bombarded and captured the second city in the island, 
Tamatave (1883). The efforts of France to gain control over 
Tonquin and the adjacent territory in China attracted still more 
attention. Tonquin is the most populous province of the king- 
dom of Anani, of which it formed a part after 1802. Over this 
kingdom, China claimed the rights of a suzerain ; which the French 
refused to acknowledge. In 1862, after a war lasting for almost 



EUROPE (1871-1890). 591 

four years, Napoleon III. obtained from Anam, by the treaty of 
Saigun, the -prowince?, ca[\td Cochin- China. In 1874 the French 
Republic extorted from King Tuduc of Anam a treaty by which 
his foreign pohcy was placed under the direction of France. 
Against this treaty, China protested. In 1882 the French com- 
mander Riviere seized the city of Hanoi. The " Black Flags," a 
body of free-lances or pirates, whose leader had been one of the 
Chinese rebels, fought against the French ; but it soon appeared 
that both the king of Anam and the government of China were in 
league with his hostile force. Two years later a treaty was signed 
bringing Tonkin almost directly under French rule and reestab- 
lishing the protectorate in Anam. 

The Conflict of Prussia and the Vatican. — The Roman Catho- 
lic Church in Germany is recognized as a legal institution. Its 
revenues are received from the state, which, in turn, exercises a 
supervision over the education of its clergy. In Prussia, especially 
under Frederick William IV., large privileges were granted by law 
to the Catholic body. The proceedings of the Vatican Council 
awakened in Germany, as elsewhere in Europe, the apprehension 
that the decree of papal infallibility might give rise to conflict be- 
tween the authorities of the Church and of the State. Bismarck 
considered that the " ultramontane " party in the Church involved 
danger to the newly created German Empire. The Prussian gov- 
ernment resisted the attempt of the Church, in 1 871, to remove 
from office Catholic teachers who refused to subscribe to the Vati- 
can dogma of papal infallibility. In other words, the government 
recognized and undertook to protect the " Old Catholics." The 
contest with the clerical or ultramontane party went on ; and before 
the end of the year, the Catholic branch of the Prussian Ministry 
of Worship and Instruction was abohshed. In a debate in 1872, 
Bismarck said, " Of this be sure, that neither in Church nor in 
State are we on the way to Canossa." His pohcy met with a 
determined resistance from Pius IX. The Jesuits were expelled 
from the German Empire. This law was afterwards construed to 
include other orders. 

The Falk Laws: Continued Conflict. — The laws proposed 
by the Prussian minister of worship, Falk, required that candi- 
dates for the clerical office in the Cathohc Church should have a 
training in the gymnasium and university, and that every ecclesi- 
astical appointment should be sanctioned by the civil authorities. 
They provided for a royal court for the settlement of ecclesi- 
astical questions. These laws were passed in 1873. ^^ ^^75 civil 
marriage was made obligatory in the empire. These measures 
were stoutly resisted by " the Center," or the clerical party, in 
the Prussian Parliament, and in the Reichstag. They were de- 
clared by the Pope to be invalid, and Roman Catholics were for- 



592 MODERN HISTORY. • 

bidden to obey them. Other enactments, one of which forbade 
all payments to the bishops and clergy unless they should sign a 
promise to obey the laws of the state, were adopted by Prussia. 
Refractory bishops and priests were punished in various ways. 
The result was that the Roman Catholic party, led by Windhorst, 
ex-minister of Hanover, in opposition to Bismarck's measures, was 
consolidated. The struggle extended beyond the bounds of Prus- 
sia : it was Bavaria, a Catholic state, which proposed the law re- 
quiring civil marriage. After the accession oi Leo XIII., there was 
on both sides an increased disposition to find terms of peace by 
which the numerous vacancies in Catholic clerical offices could be 
filled. The need which Bismarck felt of the support of " the 
Center" for his financial measures favored this result. Falk re- 
signed (July 13, 1879), he being personally odious to the Roman 
party. After long debates, a bill was passed (Jan. i, 1882) giving 
to the king and his ministers discretionary powers, which opened 
the way for filling the vacant places. Still, in the great festival at 
the completion of the Cologne Cathedral (Oct. 15), the clerical 
party stood aloof. But the mutual friendly approaches of the 
chancelor and his ultramontane opponents continued. Diplo- 
matic correspondence was opened with the Vatican. Some of the 
harsher features of the anti-papal legislation were revoked. 

Bismarck and Socialism. — One motive in this modification 
of the chancelor's policy was the rapid progress of socialism. At 
first, while Bismarck was engaged in a struggle with the liberals, 
who impeded his plans in the Prussian Parliament, he had willingly 
availed himself of the support of Lasalle and his sociahstic fol- 
lowers. But after the war with France, the party of the " Social 
Democrats " became more and more numerous and formidable. 
It was not, however, until a second attempt was made on the 
emperor's Hfe, that Bismarck was able to carry, against the com- 
bination of parties, his measures giving to the government ex- 
traordinary powers for the stifling of sociahstic agitation (1879). 
The law for the suppression of socialistic meetings, newspapers, 
etc., was rigorously enforced. 

The " Particularists." — Bismarck was, moreover, obliged to 
contend with the " Particularists," who were hostile to the Em- 
pire, and with a large number besides them, who were opposed to 
a greater degree of imperial centralization at the expense of the 
power of the separate states. Unable to obtain for the imperial 
government the control over the German railroad system, he de- 
vised a plan (1879) by which Prussia would eventually control 
three-quarters of the railroads of Germany. An imperial code of 
laws was adopted (1877) ; but, from jealousy of Prussia, the seat 
of the supreme court of appeal was fixed at Leipsic. In his eco- 
nomical and financial measures, the chancelor was often charged 



EUROPE (1 87 1- 1 890). ^Q3 

with the exercise of arbitrary power. Free, representative gov- 
ernment, according to the English system, did not accord with 
his idea of the Prussian monarchy, and with the character of the 
new empire, the unity of which he was naturally anxious to fortify. 
By his alhance with Austria in 1879, ^^ placed Germany in a sit- 
uation to resist Russia and France, in case Russia, aggrieved by 
the action of Germany at the Berlin Conference (1878), should 
join hands with France in acts of hostility against the German 
empire. In 1888 Williaifi I, died and was succeeded by his 
son, Frederick III., who held the sovereignty but a few months, 
dying June 15, 1888. His son, William II., succeeded him. 

The British Sway in India. — British sway by degrees extended 
itself over India. The fall of the Mogul empire left the coun- 
try in a state of anarchy. Strife arose with one tribe after another, 
until the authority of England came to be acknowleged as far 
north as the Himalayas. The English advance was made with 
the help of native auxiliaries, and could not have been made 
without it. It was quite as much an internal revolution as a for- 
eign conquest. As the British enlarged their dominion, and came 
into conflict with the French, the appetite for supremacy grew. 
Under the rule of the Marquis of Wellesley (1798-1805), partly 
through the victories of Sir Arthur Wellesley (afterwards the 
Duke of Wellington), " the policy of intervention and annexa- 
tion " was pursued with brilliant success. The Burmese were con- 
quered, and parts of their territory annexed, in 1826, 1852, and 
1885. The effort always was to secure a quiet frontier. In 1843 
a war with Sciiide resulted in its absorption in British territory. 
In 1849 the annexation of Punjab followed, a British protectorate 
having been found insufficient. The misgovernment of the na- 
tive princes in Oude led to the assumption of the government of 
that province by the English in 1856. 

The Indian Mutiny. — There was hostihty to British rule among 
the Mohammedans in India, and distrust among the Hindoos. 
The latter acquired a fanatical belief that the EngHsh, who had 
abolished the burning of widows, and even legalized their mar- 
riage, meant to force the people to lose caste by driving them 
to sacrilegious practices. The report that cartridges had been 
served out which had been lubricated with the fat of the swine, 
abhorred by Moslems, and of the cow, venerated by the Hin- 
doos, stirred up a revolt among the native Sepoy troops (1857). 
The insurrection spread, and was attended with savage cruelties. 
There was a frightful massacre ot women and children at Cawn- 
poj'e, before General Havelock could arrive for its relief. The Eng- 
lish, who were besieged in lucknow, after terrible suffering, were 
reheved by the opportune coming of this gallant soldier. All 
the English residents in Delhi, who could not escape into the jun- 



594 MODERN HISTORY. 

gle, were murdered. The weak old king placed himself at the 
head of the rebellion. Delhi was recaptured by the British, and 
the conquest completed by Sir Colin Campbell (March 22, 1858). 
Oude was subdued. Gradually the rebellion was crushed, and mer- 
ciless severity was exercised by the conquerors upon those most 
actively concerned in it. One consequence of the revolt was the 
entire transference of the government of India from the East India 
Company to the Crown. The measure was introduced into Par- 
liament by Lord Palmerston (1858). Under the ministry of 
Disraeli, and on his motion, the Queen added to her titles that 
of "Empress of India" (1877). 

British Wars with the Afghans. — In the last century Ahmed 
Khan, the ruler of Afghanistan, extended his dominion as far as 
Delhi. But he died in 1773, and his son Timour a\vax\.gtA the 
seat of government from Candahar to Cabul. In 1838 the 
English declared war against Dost Mohammed, one of the three 
rulers of the country, whose seat of power was in this city. The 
British attack was successful; but insurrections broke out (1841), 
and they agreed to evacuate the country. The whole British 
army, which had to pass through the Kurd- Cabul Pass, was de- 
stroyed by cold and hunger, and by the harassing attacks of the 
mountaineers (1842). It numbered forty-five hundred fighting 
men and twelve thousand five hundred camp-followers. Another 
British army, under Gen. Pollock, forced the Khyber Pass, and 
took vengeance on Cabul. In 1855 Dost Mohammed, now an 
ally of the English, drove the Persians out of Herat, which, as 
" the key of India," the British were anxious to protect against 
ambitious schemes of Russia. In 1863 he took Herat from 
Ahined, the sultan there, who was considered a tool of Persia and 
of Russia. Dost Mohajnmed died soon after, and was succeeded 
by his son SJier AH Khan. After the acquisition of Quctta by 
the English, he began to side with the Russians. His intrigues 
with them, and his refusal to receive a British embassy, brought 
on the second Afghan war of the British (1878-81). The ameer 
died (Feb. 21, 1879) ) the Afghans were defeated by Gen. Roberts, 
who took Cabul, and installed as ameer Abdurrahman Khan 
(1880). The English then decided to evacuate the territory. 
On their march they were attacked by Ayub Khan of Herat. 
Later he was defeated by Roberts, and driven back to that place. 
The Gladstone ministry had succeeded the ministry of Disraeli, 
who had been anxious to estabUsh a "scientific frontier " between 
Afghanistan and the Czar's territories, — such a frontier as would 
secure a " neutral zone " between them and India, to serve as a 
barrier against Russian invasion. 

Russia and Afghanistan. — The gradual approaches of Russia in 
the direction of Herathaxe been on two lines. The one is the line 



EUROPE SINCE 1871. 595 

south-easterly from the Caspian. She gained a lodgment in 1869 
at Krasnovodsk on the eastern shore of that sea. In 1880 Geop- 
teke and Askabat were taken. The other line of aggressive ap- 
proach is south-westerly from the neighborhood of the Oxus. On 
this line, partly from displeasure at the English occupation of 
Egypt, and in pursuance of the policy, adopted especially since the 
Berlin Conference (1878), to advance towards Herat, the Rus- 
sians suddenly seized Merv, an oasis extremely important from 
a military point of view, over which Persia claimed a certain suze- 
rainty. The Russians occupied it in force, under Gen. Komaroff 
(March 16, 1884). Subsequently England and Russia agreed to 
ascertain and fix the northern boundary of Afghanistan. The 
occupation of Pe^ijdeh by the Afghans, followed by the advance 
of Ko7naroff, — of which the British complained as an aggres- 
sion, — brought the two countries to the verge of war (1885). 

The Western Powers and Egypt. — " The Oriental question " 
— the question relating to Turkey and its dependencies — con- 
stantly took on new phases, and presented to the powers of Europe 
fresh difficulties and dangers of conflict. The Khedive of Egypt, 
Ismail Pasha, was a friend and admirer of Napoleon III. and of 
the French. He succeeded in obtaining from the Sultan repeated 
concessions, which reduced his dependence on Turkey to little 
more than an obligation to pay an annual tribute, together with 
certain marks of respect and honor. His conflicts with lands 
on the south, Dafour and Abyssinia, his extravagant outlays in 
public works of internal improvement, and the enormous interest 
paid to foreign capitalists for their loans, involved him in the 
utmost financial embarrassment. This furnished the occasion to 
the Western powers, in particular to England and France, to inter- 
meddle still more in Egyptian affairs. The Khedive sold to the 
British Government his shares in the Suez Canal; and gave into 
the hands of the English and French (1878) the control of the 
financial administration of the country. This sort of dependence 
was repugnant to both the Khedive and the Egyptian people. The 
native officers were pushed into the background. The most lucra- 
tive stations were filled by foreigners, and the weight of taxation 
was almost intolerable. The attempt to throw off this yoke only 
resulted in the deposition of Ismail by the Sultan, on the demand 
of the two Western powers. His weak son, Tewfik Pasha, took 
his place. The control of the finances remained in foreign hands. 
The result of the discontent of the people, and of the disaffection 
of the Egyptian officers, was a revolt led by Arabi Pasha, a mili- 
tary officer (1881). The Khedive comphed with the demands of 
the insurgents : their chief was made minister of war. The West- 
ern powers were bent on suppressing this movement, and, in 
addition to threats and diplomatic measures, sent their fleets to 



596 MODERN HISTORY. 

Egypt. A revolt broke out in Alexandria, in which the Enghsh 
consul was wounded and many Europeans were slain (June, 1882). 
The city was filled with terror, and all trade was suspended. The 
Enghsh fleet bombarded the city, and set it on fire. Arabi with- 
drew his troops to Cairo. He was now deposed by the Khedive, 
and declared a rebel. His troops showed little spirit. The for- 
tifications of Tel-el- Kebir were taken by the English general, Sir 
Garnet Wolseley, almost without resistance. Aboukir, Damietta, 
and Cairo surrendered, and the Egyptian leader, Arabi, was cap- 
tured and banished. From that time Egypt fell into a condition 
of helpless dependence on England. France found herself without 
the iniiuence there which she had always coveted since the days 
of the first Napoleon. The system of administration in Egypt was 
now organized by the English, through Lord Duffer in. Great 
complaint was made against them by the other powers, for not 
taking sufficient precautions to prevent the introduction of the 
cholera from India. The principal troubles of the English grew out 
of the invasion of the false prophet called El Mahdi, who gathered 
to himself a host of followers in the Soudan, partly instigated by 
Moslem fanaticism, but largely impelled by their hatred of the 
Egyptian government established over that region. The people 
of the Soudan complained bitterly of the oppressive Egyptian offi- 
cers. The slave-dealers there were exasperated at the prohibition 
of their traffic, on which England had insisted. In the course of 
the conflict with El Mahdi, Hicks Pasha, an English officer in 
the service of the Khedive, was defeated and slain, and his force 
cut to pieces, near El Obeid (Nov. 3, 4, and 5, 1883). There 
was great fear now for the province of Sennaar and especially for 
the city of Khartotini, where there were many Europeans. Mr. 
Gladstone, and the English ministry of which he was the head, 
were not disposed to hold the Soudan, but desired to give it up 
as soon as the garrisons could be rescued and brought away. To 
this policy the Khedive was opposed. The project of a military 
interference in the Soudan by the Sultan, the English took care 
to prevent by attaching to it impossible conditions. On the Red 
Sea, Osnian Digna, a partisan of the Mahdi, made repeated 
attacks upon Suakim, the base of the operations of Baker Pasha, 
another former Enghsh officer, now become general of the Egyp- 
tian army. On account of the cowardice of the Egyptian troops. 
Baker ys^s, defeated with heavy loss (Feb. 4, 1884). The British 
troops from Cairo under Graham had better success ; and Osman 
Digna was vanquished, and driven into the mountains. The Eng- 
lish government adopted the extraordinary measure of sending 
General Gordon to Khartoum ; his errand being to pacify the tribes 
of the Soudan, to provide for the deliverance of the garrisons, and 
to arrange terms of accommodation with El Mahdi. This last it 



35 from Greenwicla 40 



TUEKISH EMPIEE, 

GREECE, 
ROUMANIA, BULGARIA, SERVIA 

EAS'I' ROU.MELIA AND MONTENEGRO. 
SINCE 1878. 




EUROPE (1871-1890). 597 

was found impossible to accomplish. Berber was captured by the 
enemy, and garrison and male population were slaughtered. Gor- 
don was shut up in Khartoum. The peculiar financial situation 
obliged the English ministry to hold a conference of the great 
powers (June 28, 1885) at London. Lord Granville vcssi^it^ that 
only financial points, and not the general Egyptian question, 
should be considered, which did not accord with the views of the 
other powers, and the conference adjourned without effecting any- 
thing. The perilous situation of Gordon, and the feeling in Eng- 
land on this account, obliged the government to send out General 
Wolseley with a large force to Egypt; but before aid could be 
given Gordon^ Khartoum was betrayed, and he was slain. The 
course of England respecting Egypt had left her isolated as re- 
gards the other European powers, and had awakened much dis- 
affection in England. It was the pohcy of the Gladstone minis- 
try in relation to Egypt, even more than complaints growing out 
of their conduct in the troubles with Russia, that obliged them to 
resign, and to give place to the Tory cabinet of Lord Salisbury. 
Upon the death of Tewfik (Jan. 7, 1892) his son, Abbas Pasha, be- 
came khedive. 

Great Britain and Canada. — On the cession of Canada to 
Great Britain (1763), the French inhabitants of Lower Canada 
were secured in the free exercise of the Catholic religion, and in 
the possession of equal rights with English settlers. " The Quebec 
Act" of 1774 made Canada one royal government, and brought 
in the English criminal code with trial by jury. During the 
Revolution, many loyalists emigrated to Upper Canada. A strong 
desire arose for a repeal of the "Quebec Act." In 1791, under 
Pitt, the two parts of Canada were made separate provinces. A 
constitution was granted, which provided for an elective legislature 
for each. The governors, the executive councils, and the legisla- 
tive councils were to be appointed by the Crown. The govern- 
ments were still subject to the Colonial Office in London. A 
spirit of opposition between the two provinces increased. Upper 
Canada, under English law, grew in numbers and prosperity ; but 
the growth of population in Lower Canada was much more rapid. 
Here there was an antagonism between the Assembly and the 
English governors. There was an open rebellion in 1837, which 
spread into Upper Canada. The two Canadas were united in 
1841 ; the executive department became responsible, as in Eng- 
land, to the popular branch of the legislature ; and under the liberal 
and enlightened administration of Lord Elgin (1847-54), a better 
feeling arose. He was obliged, however, to suppress a mob of 
the conservatives, or "loyalists" (1849), who were hostile to the 
extension of a general amnesty to former rebels. In 1856 the 
Upper House was made elective. In 1857 Ottawa was made 
the seat of government. In 1867 tht Domi?iion 0/ Canada was 



598 MODERN HISTORY. 

constituted. It was at first a federal union of Nova Scotia, New 
Brunswick, and tlie Canadas ; Upper Canada receiving the name 
of Ontario, and Lower Canada being named Quebec. Manitoba, 
formed out of a part of Hudson Bay Territory, was admitted to 
the Dominion in 1870, and British Colu7)ibia in 1871. Prince 
Edward Island was admitted in 1873 ) ^'^^ the same year the 
territories were received by transfer from the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany. The Dominion has a Senate and a House of Commons. 
The authority of the Crown is represented by the governor-gen- 
eral and the council. Legislation is subject to a veto from the 
sovereign. Each province has its local government, but whatever 
powers are not expressly reserved to the several provinces are 
granted to the General Government, — a provision the reverse of 
that found in the Constitution of the United States, which the 
Canadian system in various features resembles. 

In the Peace of Utrecht (1713), France gave up its claim to Nova Scotia: 
the Peace of Paris (1763) surrendered to Great Britain New Brunswick, and 
Cape Bret07t and Prince Edward islands. These are known at present as 
the maritime provinces. When the American War of Revolution began, 
thousands of loyalists emigrated to Nova Scotia, as well as to Upper Canada, 
from whom many of the present inhabitants are descended. The island of 
Vancouver, on the western coast of British Cohmibia, was surrendered to the 
navigator of this name by Quadra, a Spanish commander, in 1792. In 1843 
a trading-post was established at Victoria by the Hudson Bay Company. 
The island forms politically a part of British Columbia. The Government 
of the Dominion, when British Columbia was received, engaged to construct 
a railway to the Pacific across British North America. England acquired a 
title to Newfoundland \n 17 13. It first received a constitution in 1832. The 
government was made responsible to the Assembly in 1852. 

Great Britain and Australia. — Australia, which covers an area of 
three million square miles, when it was first visited by Europeans was found 
to be inhabited by native tribes of the Papuan, Melanesian, or Australasian 
race, of whom about eighty thousand now remain. In the seventeenth cen- 
tury, various points along its coasts were touched by European voyagers, 
especially by the Dutch. The discoveries of Captain Cook (1769 to 1777) 
had an important influence in leading to settlements on this island-continent. 
New South Wales, a name given by Cook, is the oldest of the English prov- 
inces in Australia. Not Botany Bay, which he had selected for a settle- 
ment, but /'(?;Y yac/^jt?;;, was made a penal station (1788) for convicts from 
England. This place, however, continued to be erroneously called Botany 
Bay. The principal harbor was named Syd?tey Cove. In 1S03 Van Dieman''s 
Land, now called Tasmania, was first occupied. Thus the beginnings of 
colonization in Australia were made by the dregs of English society. The 
convicts labored for their own support, and, when their terms had expired, 
sometimes received as a gift small farms, and implements with which to till 
them. The character of the settlement, and the management of it, became 
much more humane after 1810, when Macquarie became governor. Free 
colonists, English and Scotch, came and joined it. The discovery of the 
upland pastures beyond the Blue Mountains, which were remarkably adapted 
to sheep, made an epoch in the history of the colony. Spanish merino sheep 
were introduced: wool became the chief staple; the production of it, espe- 
cially after the invention of the combing-machine, became very profitable, 
and free emigrants poured in. The Australian Agricultural Company was 



EUROPE SINCE 1871. 599 

formed in England. Western Australia began to be settled in 1829, but 
did not thrive. New colonies continued to be formed in Easteui Australia. 
South Australia was made prosperous by copper-mines. Victoria, which be- 
came a distinct province in 1851, owes its growth to gold mines. Melbourne, 
its chief town, was planted in 1837. The first British governors at Sydney v/tre 
military officers, ruling with despotic authority. Representative institutions 
were gradually formed in the different provinces. The constitutions were 
framed on the model of the home government; but in Victoria and Tasmania 
the Upper House was made elective. After long conflicts with the home 
government, the Australian colonies escaped from the misfortune of being 
places to which convicts were transported. The discovery of gold in New 
South Wales and Victoria was made in 185 1, and caused at once an immense 
influx of immigrants. Next to gold, the most important article of export has 
been wool. Wheat and copper have been exported in large quantities. The 
breeding of cattle has been a profitable employment in these communities. 

New Zealand. — In r838 the first regular and permanent settlement 
was made in New Zealand. Wellingtoti was founded in the next year. New 
Zealand, with South Island and North Island, became a colony mdependent 
of Australia in 1841. 

England and Ireland. — The disaffection of the Irish, and their 
antipathy to EngUsh rule, broke out in different forms, as circum- 
stances changed. For a long time the demand was for " Cath- 
olic emancipation." This was granted (p. 558) ; but most of the 
English concessions were made under such a pressure, and in ap- 
pearance so grudgingly, that little was accomplished by them in 
placating Irish hostility. The outcry against tithes for the support 
of the Protestant EstabHshed Church was to a great extent quieted 
in 1838, when the odious features of this tax were removed. The 
Act disestablishing the Irish Protestant Church, carried by Mr. 
Gladstone in 1869, and put in execution in 187 1, took away one of 
the great grievances of which the Irish nation had to complain. 
The repeal of the legislative union of England and Ireland was the 
watchword of O' Co7i7iell ^xA his followers. In one form or another, 
the demand for local self-government or independence, which has 
been more lately urged under the name of " home rule," has been 
kept up with little intermission. It is about the special question 
of land reform that the most bitter conflicts have centered. The 
ownership of a great part of the land in Ireland by a few persons : 
the fact that great obstacles and great expenses — difficulties of 
late somewhat lightened — have existed in the way of the trans- 
ference of land if any one had the means to purchase it : the cir- 
cumstances that the owners have generally been, not residents, but 
absent landlords ; that, in cases of dispute with tenants, the laws 
were for a long period framed in their interest ; that the manage- 
ment of estates was left to agents or middle-men ; that multitudes of 
tenants, whose holdings were small, could glean a bare subsistence 
from the soil, were doomed to famine if the potato-crop failed, and, 
when unable to pay the rent, were liable to " eviction," that is, to be 
turned out of doors, with their families, to perish, — these have been 



600 MODERN HISTORY. 

causes sufficient to give rise to endless disputes and conflicts. Add 
to these facts the inbred hostility arising from differences of race 
and religion ; the memory, on the part of the Irish, of centuries 
of misgovernment, and the feeling that the lands held by suffer- 
ance were wrested from their ancestors by force, — and the ani- 
mosity manifested in revolts and outrages is easily explained. The 
English government, in a series of measures, — in connection with 
which, acts of coercion for preventing and punishing violence have 
been passed, — undertook to lessen the evils that exist, and to pro- 
duce a better state of feeling. The Encuinbe^-ed Estates Court 
was established to render more easy the transfer of lands. This 
Act, and the Land Act passed the same year (i860), although 
well meant, failed to improve the situation of the tenants. Mr. 
Gladstone'' s great measure of disestablishment has been referred 
to. His second great reform measure was the Land Law of 1870, 
the effect of which was to make the landlord pay damages to the 
evicted tenant, to compensate him for improvements which he had 
made, etc. One object of this Act was to create a body of peasant 
proprietors in Ireland. Additional Acts, in 1880, were designed 
to assist tenants to purchase their holdings. The hopes as to the 
practical benefit to follow the Act of 1870 were disappointed. In 
1877, 1878, and 1879, there was a partial failure of the crops. The 
Fenian movement, designed to secure Irish independence by force, 
was organized in the United States, 1857. By uniting with simi- 
lar Irish brotherhoods, it extended itself in Great Britain as well 
as America, collected large funds, and, 1866, made ineffectual 
attempts to invade Canada. An armed rising in Ireland shortly 
after, under Fenian leadership, was suppressed. The national 
agitation consequent on these proceedings in Ireland, issued in 
the organization, 1870, of the Home Rule party, with Mr. Isaac 
Butt a leading promoter. The object was to secure an Irish 
Parliament for Irish affairs, and for the control of Irish resources; 
the Imperial Parliament being left to deal with imperial affairs. 
In this period (about 1874) Mr. Parnell grew to be conspicuous 
in politics. He became the leader of the Home Rule members 
of the House of Commons, who sought, by obstructing the pro- 
gress of business, to compel the English government to with- 
draw its measures of coercion, and to legislate in accordance with 
the views of himself and his associates. The " obstructionists," 
by joining the Tories, effected the retirement of the Gladstone 
Cabinet (1885). In Ireland a system of " boycotting " was 
adopted for the punishment of landlords guilty of evicting ten- 
ants. This led to deeds of violence and blood. Parnell died in 

1 89 1, and Justin McCarthy became the leader of the Irish cause 
in ParUament. A Gladstone Cabinet again came into power in 

1892, with an avowed object of securing Home Rule for Ireland. 



Vest from 




THE UNITED STATES (1815-1890). 601 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE UNITED STATES (1815-1890) : MEXICO : SOUTH 
AMERICAN STATES: EASTERN ASIA. 

End of the Federal Party. — The end of the war with Great 
Britain (181 2-15) was marked by the extinction of the Federal 
party. But the Republicans, the opposing party, were now equally 
zealous for the perpetuity of the Union, and were quite ready to 
act on a liberal construction of the Constitution with respect to the 
powers conferred on the General Government. This had been 
shown in the purchase of Louisiana : it was further exemplified in 
1816 in the establishment of a national bank, and in the enactment 
of a protective cariff. Then, and until 1832, presidential candi- 
dates were nominated by Congressional "caucuses." James Mon- 
roe (1817-25) received the votes of all of the States but three. 
The absence of party division has caused his time to be desig- 
nated as " the era of good feeling." 

Purchase of Florida. — Slaves in Georgia and Alabama fre- 
quently escaped from their masters, and fled for shelter to the 
swamps of Florida. The Creek and the Seminole Indians were 
always disposed to aid them. In 181 7 Gen&xsl Andrew Jackson 
was appointed to conduct an expedition against the Seminoles. 
He came into conflict with the Spanish authorities in Florida, 
where he seized Spanish forts, and built a fort of his own. Finally, 
in 1S19, the Floridas were purchased of Spain for five million 
dollars, and the United States gave up its claim to the extensive 
territory west of the Sabine River, which was known afterwards as 
Texas. This became a part of Mexico two years later. 

Slavery: The Missouri Compromise. — In 1820 a sectional 
struggle arose in Congress, on the question of the admission of 
Missouri as a State with a constitution permitting slavery. The 
slave-trade had been carried on by the States separately, before 
the National Constitution was formed. It was abolished by Con- 
gress in 1808, the earliest date allowed by the Constitution for the 
power to abolish it to be exercised. The principal founders of 
the government, both in the North and South, considered slavery 
an evil, and looked forward to its gradual extinction. In the 
North, where the slaves were less numerous, laws for gradual 
emancipation were early passed. But the rapid increase of slaves 
in the South, the growing demand for cotton, and the stimulus 
given to the production of it by the cotton-gin, made the prospect 
of emancipation by legislative action less probable as time ad- 
vanced. The American Colonization Society was formed in 181 1 ; 
and the fallacious hope was entertained by many, that the negroes 
might be carried back to the Liberian settlement on the African 



602 MODERN HISTORY. 

coast. The extension of slavery in the territory north-west of the 
Ohio had been prevented by the Congressional ordinance of 1787. 
When the question of the admission of Missouri to the Union 
came up, the members of Congress from the North and the mem- 
bers from the South were in hostile array on the point, and a 
dangerous excitement was kindled. By the exertions of Henry 
Clay, the " Missouri Compromise " was adopted, by which the 
new State was admitted with slavery in it ; but, as a kind of equiva- 
lent, slavery was prohibited forever in all the remaining territory 
of the United States north of 36° 30' north latitude, the southern 
boundary of Missouri. 

The "Monroe Doctrine." — When the "Holy Alliance" was engaged in 
its crusade against liberty in Europe, it was thought that they might attempt 
to conquer for Spain the revolted South American republics. Canning sug- 
gested to the American minister in England, that it would be well for the 
United States to take action against such a scheme. President Monroe, in 
his annual message in 1823, said that we should consider an attempt of the 
allied powers to extend their system in this country, or any interference on 
their part for the purpose of controlling the destiny of the American States, 
as unfriendly action towards the United States. This is the " Monroe Doc- 
trine." An additional statement in disapproval of future colonization on the 
American continents by European powers was made in the same message. 
This second statement was never sanctioned by the House of Representa- 
tives. It is vague, and was probably meant to exclude indirect attempts to 
overthrow the liberty of the new American republics. The only thing which 
the " Monroe Doctrine " really contains is the intimation on the part of the 
United States of a right to resist attempts of European powers to alter the 
constitutions of American communities. 

The true origin and intent of the " Monroe Doctrine " are often misunderstood. They are 
set forth in Woolsey's International Law, and in his article in Johnson's E7icyclopedia, 
" Monroe Doctrine; " also in Webster's writings, Vol. III. p. 178, and in Calhoun's " Speech 
on the Panama Question." See also Foster, A Century of A merican Diplomacy, Chap. XII. 

Parties after Monroe. — At the expiration of Monroe's second 
term, there being no choice for president by the people, John 
Quincy Adams, who had long been in pubhc life in various 
important stations, was chosen by the House of Representatives. 
His supporters combined with the adherents of Henry Clay, who 
became secretary of state. This alliance was loudly denounced 
by their opponents as a "bargain." From the close of the last 
war with Great Britain, a party called by their adversaries " loose 
constructionists " of the Constitution, of which Clay was a leader, 
— a party who were in favor of measures like a protective 
tariff, a national bank, and internal improvements, — as the 
making of canals, — to be undertaken by Congress, — had been 
growing up. It now took the name of National Republicans, 
which was afterwards exchanged for that of Whigs. On the other 
side were the " strict constructionists," who, however, differed 
among themselves respecting certain measures, — for example, the 
tariff. In their ranks Andrew Jackson belonged. Of this political 



THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1815. 603 

tendency, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina became a leading 
promoter. Andrew Jackson was a favorite candidate for the 
presidency, and the name of Democ7'ats was applied to his fol- 
lowers. 

Presidency of Jackson. — Jackson was elevated to the presi- 
dency in 1829. He was a fearless man, an ardent patriot, with a 
choleric temper and an imperious will. He carried to an un- 
exampled extent a custom, which had begun with Jefferson, of 
supplanting office-holders of the opposite political party by sup- 
porters of the administration. This came to be called the " spoils 
system," from the maxim once quoted in defense of it, that " to 
the victors belong the spoils." 

Nullificatior. — Viwnwg Jackson' s administration, there occurred 
the "nullification" crisis. In 1828 a new protective tariff had 
been passed, which was regarded in the South, especially in South 
Carolina, as extremely unjust and injurious. The New England 
States had been averse to protection ; and in 1816 Daniel Webster 
opposed the tariff measure as specially hurtful to the Eastern 
States, whose capital was so largely invested in commerce. After 
the protective policy had been adopted, and when, under its shield, 
manufacturing had been extensively established in the North, the 
former adversaries of protection, with Webster, as well as Clay, 
who had been a protectionist before, thought it unfair and destruc- 
tive to do away with the tariff. Its adversaries denounced it as 
unconstitutional. Calhoun and his followers, moreover, contended 
that nullification is legal and admissible ; in other words, that a 
law of Congress may be set aside by a State within its own limits, 
provided it is considered by that State a gross infraction of the 
Constitution. There was a memorable debate on this subject in 
1830, in the United States Senate, when the State-rights theory 
was advocated by Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina, and the 
opposite doctrine defended by Webster. In 1832 South Carolina 
passed an ordinance declaring that the tariff laws of 1828 and 
1832 were null and void, and not binding in that State. President 
Jackson issued a spirited proclamation in which the nullification 
doctrine was repudiated, and the opposite, or national, theory was 
affirmed, and the President's resolute intention to execute the 
laws of the United States was announced. The difficulty was 
ended by the compromise tariff introduced by Henry Clay, pro- 
viding for the gradual reduction of duties (1833). 

Removal of the Deposits. — The President was hostile to the 
National Bank, which he considered dangerous, as liable to be 
converted into a tool for partisan ends. Not being able to carry 
Congress with him, he assumed the responsibihty, after his second 
election, of removing the deposits, or public funds, from its cus- 
tody, or, rather, of an order for the cessation of these deposits. 



604 MODERN HISTORY. 

For this he was censured by the Senate, a majority of which 
regarded his act as arbitrary and unconstitutional. 

Anti-Slavery Agitation. — From about this time, the agitation 
respecting slavery constantly increased. In the North a party 
arose, which, through lectures and in newspapers and pamphlets, 
denounced slavery as iniquitous, and called for immediate emanci- 
pation. The most prominent leader of this party was Williain 
Lloyd Gai-rison, and its most captivating orator was Wendell 
Phillips. This party advocated disunion, on account of the obli- 
gations imposed upon the North in reference to slavery by the 
Constitution. They were sometimes assailed by mobs in Northern 
cities. The major part of the people in the North desired some 
method of extinguishing slavery which should leave the Union 
intact. Meantime they were for obeying the Constitution, although 
the obligation to restore fugitive slaves was felt to be obnoxious, 
and there grew up a disposition to avoid compliance with it. The 
" colonizationists " diminished in number. There were various 
types and degrees of anti-slavery sentiment. The resolution to 
confine slavery, by political action, within the limits of the States 
where it was under the shield of local law, became more and more 
prevalent. In the South, on the contrary, the enmity to " aboli- 
tionism" was intense, and served to increase the popularity of the 
doctrine of State-rights. Slavery came to be defended as neces- 
sary under the circumstances, and as capable of justification on 
moral and Scriptural grounds. Occasions of reciprocal complaint 
between North and South, for illegal doings relating in one way or 
another to slavery, tended to multiply. 

Annexation of Texas. — In 1836 7>.r«^ declared its independ- 
ence of Mexico. General Sam Houston, an emigrant from Ten- 
nessee, was the leader in the revolt. He defeated the Mexicans 
under Santa Ana, at the San Jacinto (1836). In 1845, largely 
by the agency of Mr, Calhoun, Texas, by an Act of Congress, was 
annexed to the United States. The motive which he avowed was 
the fear that it might fall into the hands of England, and become 
dangerous to the institution of slavery in the South. The measure 
was strenuously opposed in the North as a scheme by which it was 
intended to strengthen the influence of the slaveholding States in 
Congress. It was favored, for the same reason, by those who were 
inimical to abolitionism in whatever form. 

War with Mexico. — A consequence of the acquisition of 
Texas was a war with Mexico. The successes of Gen. Zachary 
Taylor at Palo Alto and Monterey (1846), and at Buena Vista 
(1847), and the campaign of Gen. Winfield Scott, who captured 
Vera Cruz, fought his way through the pass of Cerro Gordo, and 
at length entered the city of Mexico (Sept. 14, 1847), compelled 
the Mexicans to agree to the Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo (1848). 



THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1815. 605 

By this treaty all claim on Texas to the Rio Grande was relin- 
quished, together with the provinces of Upper California and New 
Mexico. 

The " Wilmot Proviso." — The Wilmot Proviso was proposed in 
Congress, excluding slavery from all territory to be acquired from 
Mexico. This demand for the prevention of the further extension 
of slavery in the territories subject to national jurisdiction, became 
a rallying-cry. On the nomination of General Taylor to the presi- 
dency by the Whigs (1848), a "Free-Soil" party was organized 
on this basis, — the precursor of the Republican party. The con- 
vention which nominated Taylor laid on the table a motion ap- 
proving of the Wilmot Proviso. The Whigs succeeded in the 
election, but their party lost a portion of its adherents. 

Clay's Compromise. — The application of California for ad- 
mission to the Union, which, on account of the rapid growth of 
that community through the discovery of gold, was soon made, 
brought the sectional difficulty to another crisis. President Taylor 
died (July 9, 1850), and was succeeded by Millard Fillmoi-e, the 
vice-president. The contest in Congress was soon after adjusted 
by Clay's compromise, by which California was admitted as a free 
State, Utah and New Mexico were organized into Territories with- 
out any mention of slavery, the slave-trade was prohibited in the 
District of Columbia, and a new fugitive-slave law was enacted, 
that was framed in such a way as to give great offense at the North. 
Webster, in a celebrated speech in favor of the compromise (March 
7), gave as a reason for not insisting on the Wilmot Proviso, that the 
physical character of the new Territories of itself excluded slavery 
from them. 

The Kansas Troubles. — In 1854, during the administration of 
Franklin Fierce, the standing sectional controversy reached a new 
phase. Two Territories, Kansas and Nebraska, were knocking at 
the doors of Congress for admission as States. Ka?isas lay west 
of Missouri, and, like Nebraska on the north, was protected from 
slavery by the Missouri Compromise (p. 601). But the Demo- 
crats carried through Congress a bill introduced by Mr. Douglas 
of Illinois, practically repealing that compromise, and leaving the 
matter of the toleration of slavery to be determined by the actual 
settlers as they might see fit. This measure was extensively re- 
garded m the North as a breach of faith. Companies of emigrants 
were organized in the Northern States, to form permanent settle- 
ments in Kansas; and in order to prevent that country from 
becoming a free State, marauders from Missouri crossed the line, 
to attack them, and to harass the newly planted colonies. 

The Dred-Scott Case. — James Buchanan became president in 
1857. At this time the Supreme Court decided that neither negro 
slaves nor their descendants, slave or free, could become citizens 



6o6 MODERN HISTORY. 

of the United States ; and added incidentally the dictum that the 
Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, and that Congress had 
no right to prohibit the carrying of slaves into any State or Terri- 
ritory. The effect of this opinion, if embodied in a legal decision, 
would have been to prevent the exclusion of slavery, even by a 
Territorial legislature, prior to the existence of the State govern- 
ment. This judicial act, following upon the attitude taken by the 
government at Washington with reference to the Kansas troubles, 
greatly strengthened the numbers and stimulated the determination 
of the Republican party in the Northern States. 

The John Brown Raid. — An occurrence not without a con- 
siderable effect in exciting the resentment, as well as the appre- 
hensions, of the South, was the attempt oi John Brown, a brave 
old man of the Puritan type, whose enmity to slavery had been 
deepened by conflict and suffering in the Kansas troubles, to stir 
up an insurrection of slaves in Virginia. With a handful of armed 
men, he seized the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry in 
Virginia. Half of his followers were killed : he himself was cap- 
tured, and, after being tried and convicted by the State authorities, 
was hanged (Dec. 2, 1859). 

Secession of States. — In the election of i860, Abraham Lin- 
coln received the electoral vote of every Northern State except 
New Jersey. The conviction of the Southern political leaders that 
the anti-slavery feeling of the North, with its great and growing 
preponderance in wealth and population, would dictate the policy 
of the general government, determined them to attempt to break up 
the Union. The result, it was expected, would be the permanent 
establishment of a slave-holding confederacy, or the obtaining of 
new constitutional guaranties and safeguards of the institution 
of slavery ; which, it was felt, would be undermined even if noth- 
ing more were done than to prevent the spread of it beyond the 
States where it existed. South Carolina passed an ordinance of 
secession (Dec. 20, i860), and was followed in this act by Mis- 
sissippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. The 
delegates of the seceding States met at Montgomery, Ala., and 
formed a new government under the name of the Confederate 
States of America (Feb. 8, 1861). Jefferson Davis was elected 
president, and Alexander LI. Stephens vice-president. Except at 
Pensacola in Florida, and in Charleston, all the national property 
within the borders of the seceding States was seized. Efforts look- 
ing to compromise and concihation were of no effect. After the 
accession of Mr. Lincoln, the purpose of the government to send 
supplies to the garrison oi Fort Sumter m the harbor of Charleston, 
caused the Confederates to attack that fortress, which the com- 
mander, Major Anderson, after a gallant defense, was obliged to 
surrender. President Lincoln immediately issued a proclamation 



THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1815. 607 

calling for seventy-five thousand volunteers to serve for three 
months, and called Congress together (April 15). There was a 
great uprising in the Northern States. The President's call for 
troops at once met with an enthusiastic response. Virginia, 
Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina now joined the Southern 
Confederacy, the capital of which was established at Richmond. 
Great Britain recognized the Confederate States as having the rights 
of belligerents (May 13). France did the same. 

Events of the War in 1861-62. — Only a brief account can be 
given of the events of the war. General Winfield Scott was at first 
in command of the Union forces, and General J. E. Johjiston of the 
forces of the Confederates. It was imagined at the North, that 
there could be an easy and quick advance of the Federal forces to 
Richmond; but the troops were not drilled, and the preparations 
for a campaign were wholly inadequate. The Union troops were 
defeated at Bull Run, or Manassas, and Washington was thrown 
into a panic (July 21, 1861). Congress at once adopted energetic 
measures for raising a large army and for building a navy. Gen- 
eral George B. McClellan was placed in command of the forces. 
It was foreseen on both sides, that the result of the conflict might 
depend on the course taken by foreign powers, especially by Eng- 
land. The South counted upon the demand for cotton as certain 
to secure English help, direct or indirect, for the Southern cause. 
Mr. Charles Francis Adams was selected by Mr. Seward, the sec- 
retary of state, to represent the Union at the Court of St. James. 
The Confederates sent abroad Mr. Mason and Mr. Slidell to pro- 
cure the full recognition of the new Confederacy by England and 
France. The Trent, on which they sailed, was stopped by Captain 
Wilkes of the United States Navy, and the commissioners taken 
from it. This breach of international law threatened war, which 
was averted by the surrender of the two captives to England. 
England, hower, refused to assent to Louis Napoleon^ s proposal to 
recognize the independence of the seceding States ; but the lax- 
ness of the British Government in not preventing the fitting out 
of vessels of war in her ports, to prey on American commerce, 
excited indignation in the United States. Palmerston was at the 
head of the cabinet, and Lord John Russell was secretary for 
foreign affairs. For the depredations of the Alabama, the tribunal 
chosen to arbitrate at the end of the war, and meeting at Geneva, 
condemned England to pay to the United States an indemnity of 
fifteen and a half milHons of dollars. Early in 1862 Fort Henry 
on the Tennessee, and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, were 
taken by General Ulysses S. Grant, who led the land forces, and 
Commodore A. H. Foote, who commanded the gunboats. At Fort 
Donelson nearly fifteen thousand prisoners were captured. Grant 
fought the battle of Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, which continued 



6o8 MODERN HISTORV. 

two days (April 6, 7), and ended in the retreat of the Confede- 
rates. Their general, A. S. Johnston, was killed, and the com- 
mand of his troops devolved on Beauregard. Grant, who had 
been reinforced by Buell, drove the Confederates back to Corinth, 
Miss., nineteen miles distant. The capture of Island Number 
Ten, by Pope, followed; and soon Memphis was in the hands of 
the Union forces. Farragut ran the gauntlet of the forts at New 
Orleans (April 24), and captured that city. In the East the 
Union forces had not been so successful. The iron-sheathed 
frigate Merrimac destroyed the Union fleet at Hampton Roads 
(March 9), but was driven back to Gosport by the timely appear- 
ance of the iron-clad Union vessel, the Monitor. McClellan un- 
dertook to approach Richmond by the peninsula. The campaign 
lasted from March to July, and mcluded, besides various other 
engagements, the important battles of Fair Oaks, and of Malvern 
Hill (July I ) . At the end of June the Union army was driven back 
to Harrison's Landing on the James River. Meantime the Confed- 
erate general, Jackson, in the valley of the Shenandoah, repulsed 
Fremo7it, Batiks, and McDowell, and joined General Robert E. Lee, 
the commander of the Confederate forces, who now pressed for- 
ward towards Washington. Pope was defeated at Manassas (Aug. 
29, 30), and Lee crossed the Potomac into Maryland. He was 
met by McClellan, and defeated at Antietam (Sept. 17), but was 
able to withdraw in safety across the river. McClellan was super- 
seded by Burnside, who was defeated by Lee at Fredericksburg 
(Dec. 13). 

Emancipation. — On the ist of January, 1863, President Lin- 
coln issued a proclamation declaring all slaves in States or parts of 
States in rebellion, to be free. This act was legally possiljle only 
as a belligerent measure, or as an exercise of the right of a com- 
mander. The refusal of the Government to carry on the war for 
the direct purpose of emancipation, or to adopt measures of this 
character before, — measures which the Constitution did not per- 
mit, — was not understood in foreign countries, and, in England 
especially, had tended to chill sympathy with the Northern cause. 
Regiments of negro soldiers were now formed. 

The First Six Months of 1863. — Hooker succeeded Burnside 
in command of the Potomac Army, and was defeated by Lee at 
Chancellorsville (May 3). There '^Stonewall" Jackson, one of the 
best and bravest of the Confederate generals, lost his life. Lee now 
crossed the river, and entered Pennsylvania. This was the critical 
moment in the struggle. Great pains were taken, by such people 
in the North as were disaffected with the administration at Wash- 
ington, to manifest hostility to the war, or to the method in which 
it was prosecuted. A riot broke out in the city of New York 
while the drafts for troops were in progress, and it was several days 



THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1815. 609 

before it was put down. The defeat of Lee by Meade at GettyS' 
burg {]v\y 1-3) turned the tide against the Confederates; their 
army again retired beyond the Potomac. At the same time, in the 
West, General Grant captured Vieksbiirg with upwards of thirty 
thousand men (July 4), and Port Hudson was taken. The Mis- 
sissippi was thus opened to its mouth. The Union navy acted 
effecti\ely on the Atlantic coast, and at the end of the year nearly 
all the Southern ports were closed by blockades. 

Victories at Chattanooga. — Grant assumed command of the 
military di\'ision of the Mississippi, including the region between 
the Alleghanies and that river. With the Army of the Cumber- 
land under Thomas, with reinforcements from Vicksburg under 
SJierman and from the Army of the Potomac under Hooker, he 
won the victories of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, at 
Chattanooga, Tennessee (Nov. 24 and 25). This success opened 
a path for the Union forces into Alabama and the Atlantic States. 
Sherman was sent to reinforce Burnside in Tennessee, and defeated 
Longstrect. 

To the Surrender of Lee. — Grant was made lieutenant-general, 
or first in command under the President (March 7, 1864). Three 
attempts to reach Richmond, made severally by A/cC/elhm, 
Hooker, and Burnside, had failed, as Lee's two aggressive move- 
ments had been ciefeated at Antietam and Gettysburg. The 
"border States" in the West were in the hands of the Union 
forces, as well as the lower Mississippi ; and the blockade was main- 
tained along the Atlantic coast. The plan now was for Sherman 
to secure Georgia, and to march eastward and northward into the 
heart of the Confederacy, starting at Chattanooga. IVlilitary oper- 
ations, which had been prosecuted over so vast an extent of terri- 
tory, now began to have a unity which they had greatly missed 
before. Grant personally took command of the Army of the Poto- 
mac. His object was to get between Lee's army and Richmond. 
This object was not effected ; but the sanguinary battle of the IVil- 
derness (May 5, 6), and other subsccjuent battles, had the effect, in 
the course of six weeks, to push Lee back within the fortifications of 
Petersburg and Rielunond. During the long siege of these places, 
diversions were attempted by Early in Maryland and Pennsylva- 
nia ; but he was repelled and defeated by Sheridan. The Con- 
federate vessel Alabama was sunk in the English Channel by the 
Kearsarge (June, 1864). Farragut captured the forts h\ Mobile 
Bay. Sherman's forces, after a series of engagements, entered At- 
lanta, Ga., which the Confederates had been compelled to evacuate 
(Sept. 2). A detachment was sent by ^//('77;/(^//, under Thomas, 
after Llood, which defeated him at Nashville (Dec. 15, 16). Sher- 
man marchetl through Georgia, and entered Savannah ( Dec. 21). 
On Feb. i, 1S65, he commenced his movement northward. The 



6lO MODERN HISTORY. 

attempts of General J. E. Johnston to check his advance were 
ineffectual. Sherman entered Columbia, S. C, and pushed on to 
Raleigh ; Johnston, whose numbers were inferior, retiring as he 
approached. The efforts of Lee to break away from Grant, in 
order to effect a junction with Johnston, did not succeed. Sheri- 
da^i's victory over Lee at Five Forks (April i) compelled him to 
evacuate Petersburg. He was pursued and surrounded by Grant, 
and surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House (April 9). 
The Union forces had entered Richmond (April 2). Johjiston 
surrendered his forces to Sherman (April 26). Jefferson Davis 
was captured by a body of Union cavalry in Georgia (May 10). 

Murder of Lincoln. — The joy felt in the North over the com- 
plete victory of the Union cause was turned into grief by the 
assassination of President Lincoln (April 14), who had begun his 
second term on the 4th of March. He was shot in a theater in 
Washington, by a fanatic named Booth, who imagined that he was 
avenging wrongs of the South. An attempt was made at the same 
time to murder Secretary Seward in his bed. The assailant 
inflicted on him severe but not fatal wounds. 

Mr. Lincoln had taken a strong hold upon the affections of the people. 
With a large store of plain common-sense, with an even temper, an abound- 
ing good-nature, and a humor that cast wise thoughts into the form of pithy 
maxims and similes, he combined an unflinching firmness, and loyalty to his 
convictions of duty. He refused to be hurried to the issue of an edict of 
emancipation, which, as he judged, if prematurely framed, would lose to the 
Union cause the great States of Maryland, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. 
Keeping steadily before him the prime object of the war, he inculcated, as he 
felt, malice toward none, and charity for all. What Clarendon says of 
Cromwell is true of Lincoln : " As he grew into place and authority, his parts 
seemed to be raised, as if he had had concealed faculties, till he had occasion 
to use them." 

Finances in the War. — The Confederate Government had 
carried on the war by the issue of paper money made redeemable 
on the condition of success in gaining independence. This cur- 
rency, of course, became worthless. The debt of the United States 
at the close of the war had risen from about sixty-five millions to 
more than twenty-seven hundred millions of dollars, not to speak 
of the debts incurred by States and towns. 

Amendments to the Constitution. — The Thirteenth Amend- 
ment to the Constitution (declared in force Dec. 18, 1865) prohib- 
ited slavery, in the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment 
(declared in force July 28, 1868) secured to all the freedmen the 
right of citizenship and equality under State law, and ordained 
that the basis of representation in each State should be reduced 
in proportion to any abridgment by State law of the right of suf- 
frage in its male population. The Fifteenth Amendment (declared 
in force March 30, 1870) forbade the abridgment of the right to 



THE UNITED STATES (1815-1890). 61I 

vote, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 
The effect of the amendments was to confer on the blacks the 
civil and political rights enjoyed by the whites. 

Reconstruction: Administration of Johnson. — The Southern 
States were conquered communities ; but the theory was held that 
they had not been, and could not be in law, dissevered from the 
Union. The difficulty of reconstructing State governments was 
aggravated by the fact that the bulk of the intelligent people in 
the seceding States were precluded, or excluded themselves, from 
taking part in the measures requisite for this end ; by the addi- 
tional fact of the ignorance of the blacks, and of the selfish greed 
of white adventurers who took the place of leaders among them ; 
and by dissensions in the North, and in the administration at 
Washington, as to the right and lawful course to be pursued. 
The President, Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, became 
involved in a contest with the dominant Republican party in 
Congress, on questions pertaining to reconstruction. He was 
impeached and tried by the Senate (Feb. 24-May 16, 1868), but 
the number of votes for his conviction was one less than the num- 
ber required. On the expiration oi Johnson's term, General Grant 
was raised to the presidential office. It was complained, that the 
new -governments instituted in the South by the freedmen and 
their white coadjutors were grossly corrupt and incapable, and that 
their "returning boards " made false results of elections. On the 
other hand, it was complained, that the opponents of these govern- 
ments resorted to violence and fraud to intimidate their pohtical 
adversaries, and to keep them out of office. The troops of the 
United States, which had sustained the officers appointed by the 
blacks and by their white allies in several of the States, were at 
length withdrawn ; and political power was resumed throughout the 
South by the adverse party, or the class which had contended against 
what were derisively styled " carpet-bag " governments. A difficulty 
arose in 1876, in consequence of a dispute about the result of the 
presidential election. It was referred to an " Electoral Commis- 
sion " appointed by Congress, and Rutherford B. Hayes was 
declared to be chosen (187 7-1 881). During his administration 
(Jan. I, 1879) the banks and the government resumed specie 
payments, which had been suspended since an early date in the 
civil war. The rapid diminution of the national debt is one of 
the important features of later American history. The Republi- 
cans succeeded in the next national election ; but General Garfield, 
who was chosen President, was mortally wounded by an assassin 
(July 2, 1 881), a few months after his inauguration. Guiteau, 
who committed the causeless and ruthless deed, claimed to be 
" inspired by the Deity," but was judged to be morally and legally 
responsible, and died on the gallows. Chester A. Arthur, the 



5j2 modern history. 

Vice-President, filled the highest office for the remainder of the 
presidential term. At the election in 1884 Grover Cleveland, Gov- 
ernor of New York, was elected as Chief Magistrate; and the 
Democrats, for the first time since the retirement of Mr. Buchanan 
and the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln (in 1861), took the reins 
of power into their hands; the Republicans, however, retaining 
a majority in the Senate. Benjamin Harrison (Republican) suc- 
ceeded Cleveland z.% President, 1889. The McKinley Tariff Bill, 
1890, reduced the duty on some imports, but increased them 
heavily on others. In 1892 the four hundredth anniversary of 
America's discovery was celebrated, and Grover Cleveland, Demo- 
cratic nominee, was again elected to the presidency. The revival 
of industry and prosperity in the Southern States, and efforts for 
popular education for the blacks as well as whites, are circum- 
stances worthy of special record. 

Grant and Lee. — About two months after his retirement from the 
presidency, General Grant began a tour of the world. He landed in San 
Francisco from Japan, on his return, in September, 1879, after an absence of 
nearly two years and a half. In 1880 an effort was made by his warm 
political supporters to bring him forward as a candidate of the Republicans 
for a third term in the presidency. This effort failed, as had a similar 
endeavor, made with less vigor, four years before. The remainder of his 
days were spent in private life. His death occurred on July 23, 1885. He 
was buried in New York, on Aug. 8, with distinguished honors. General Lee, 
the commander of the Confederate forces in the civil war, from the close of 
the struggle to his death (Oct. 12, 1870) was president of Washington and 
Lee University, at Lexington, Ya. 

Utah. : the Mormons. — The sect of Mormons was founded in Manchester, 
N. v., in 1830, by Joseph Smith, a native of Vermont, who claimed to have received 
heavenly visions from the time when he was fifteen years old. He pretended that he 
was guided by an angel to the spot, near Matichester, where was buried a stone box 
containing a volume made up of thin gold plates, which were covered with strange char- 
acters in the "reformed Egyptian" tongue. This "Book of Mormon" was really a 
manuscript composed, in 1812, for quite another purpose, by one Solojiioti Spaiddmg, 
who had been a preacher. A copy of it made by a printer, Sidney Rigdon, fell into the 
hands of Joseph Sjnith. It contains fabulous stories of the settlement of refugees coming 
from the Tower of Babel to America, who were followed in 600 B.C. by a colony from 
Jerusalem that landed on the coast of Chili. War broke out among their descendants, from 
the bad part of whom the North American Indians sprung One of the survivors of the better 
class of these Hebrews, named Mormo7i, collected in a volume the books of records of former 
kings and priests, which, with some additions from his son, was buried until the prophet chosen 
of God should appear. In style the Book of Mormon endeavors to imitate the English version 
of the Scriptures. On the basis of this volume and of its alleged miraculous origin. Smith 
founded the sect of " Latter Day Saints," as he styled them. From Kirtland, O., where they 
came in 1831, and where the converts were numerous, they removed to a place which they 
named Ne-w Jemsalem, in Jackson County, Mo. Here they were joined by Brigham 
Yoicng, also a native of Vermont, a man of much energy and shrewdness. Sjnith was charged 
by the Missourians, and some of his own followers who deserted him, with outrageous crirnes 
and frauds. The conflict between the Mormons and the Missourians resulted in the migration 
of the former to Nauvoo in Illinois, where a community was organized in which Sjnith exer- 
cised supreme power. In 1843 Smith, who was as profligate as he was knavish, professed to 
receive a revelation sanctioning polygamy. His bad conduct, and that of his adhereiits, 
brought on a conflict with the civil authorities. Smith, with his brother, was killed in the jail 
by a mob. Driven out o{ No iivoo, the Mormons (1848) made their way to Utah, and founded 
Salt Lake City. Their systematic efforts to obtain converts brought to them a large number 
from the ignorant working-class in Great Britain and in Sweden and Norway. The Territory 
of Utah was organized by Congress in 1849. The laws and officers of the United States, how- 
ever, were treated with defiance and openly resisted by Brigham Young, the Mormon leader; 
and he was removed from the office of governor, to which he had been appointed by President 
Fillmore. A contest with the United States authorities was succeeded by the submission of 
the Mormons in 1858. In 1871 efforts for the suppression of polygamy by law were undertaken 



MEXICO. 613 

by the Federal Government, and have since been continued with imperfect success. Brighavi 
Young ^\^A. in 1877, and was succeeded in the presidency of the Mormons by John Taylor, 
an EngUshman. A body of anti-polygamist seceders from the Mormon community, including 
a son of Brigliani You7ig, has been formed. Another Mormon sect opposed to polygamy, 
calling itself the " Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints," originated in 1851. The number 
of professed believers in the strange and grotesque tenets of Mormonism, in all the different 
places where its disciples are found, probably exceeds two hundred thousand. 

The Formation of the States. — The '^ District of Maine '^ formed a 
part of Massachusetts from 1651 to 1820, when it was admitted to the Union 
as a distinct State. Its northern boundary was not clearly defined until the 
treaty of 1842 between the United States and England, which was made by 
Mr. Webster and Lord Ashbtirton. The North-West Territory, which was 
organized in 1789, comprised the cessions north of the Ohio and as far west 
as the Mississippi, which had been made by the " landed States ; " that is, the 
several States holding portions of this region. A small portion, " the West- 
ern Reserve," was retained by Connecticut until 1795, when it was sold to 
the National Government. Out of this " North-West Territory," there were 
formed five States. Connected with the name of each is the date of its ad- 
mission to the Union: Ohio (1802), Indiana (1816), Illinois (181S), Michigan 
{1837), Wisconsin (1848). South of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi, 
lay the territory belonging to Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. From 
this, the cession of Virginia formed the State of Kentucky (1792); that of 
the Carolinas formed Tennessee (1796); that of Georgia formed Alabama 
(1819) and Mississippi (1817). The extensive territory called Louisiana was 
ceded by France to Spain in 1762, was ceded back to France in 1801, and 
purchased by the United States in 1803. From this territory, there have 
been formed the States of Louisiana (1812), Missouri (1820), Arkansas (1836), 
Iowa (1846), Minnesota (1S5S), Kansas (1861), Nebraska (1867), Colorado 
(187&), Montana and the two Dakotas (1889), Wyoming (1890), and Okla- 
homa and Indian Territories. From the cession of Florida by Spain (18 19), 
the State of Florida was formed (1845). Oregon was claimed by the United 
States by the right of prior discovery : it was organized as a Territory in 
1849 ; the Territory of Washington was formed from it in 1853, and Idaho in 
1863. Oregon was admitted as a State in 1859, Washington in 1889, and 
Idaho in 1890. Texas was admitted to the Union in 1845. From the ces- 
sions of Mexico (1848) there have been formed the States of California 
(1850) and Nevada (1864), and the Territories of Arizona, New Mexico, and 
Utah. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867. West Virginia was formed 
into a distinct State in 1863, in consequence of the secession of Virginia. 

MEXICO. 

The French Invasion : Maximilian. — After the close of the 
war with the United States (1848), there continued to be a war 
of factions in Mexico. There was a democratic party, which ob- 
tained the upper hand in 1S57, but was opposed by the church 
party. The clergy and the religious bodies were possessed of 
nearly one-half of the landed property in the country. Benito 
Juarez, who had been chief justice, became president ; but he 
was resisted by the clerical party, with their military supporters, 
and there was civil war (1857-58). Juarez was recognized as the 
lawful president by the United States. Spain, France, and Eng- 
land demanded reparation for injuries and losses suffered in Mexico 
by their subjects. In December, 1861, and January, 1862, they 
landed troops at Vera Cruz, to compel Mexico to satisfy their 
claims. The demands of England and Spain were met, and they 



6l4 MODERN HISTORY. 

withdrew their forces. It became clear, however, that Louis Napo- 
leon, who refused to recognize Juarez, had an ulterior design to 
overthrow the Mexican government, and to establish an empire 
in its place. It was a part of a visionary scheme to establish 
the domination of " the Latin race." He expected to check the 
progress of the United States, and ventured on this aggressive 
enterprise on account of the opportunity offered by the civil war 
in America. He persuaded the Archduke Maximilian, the brother 
of Francis Joseph, emperor of Austria, to accept the throne, and 
agreed to sustain him with men and money. Maximilian arrived 
in Mexico in 1864. Large bodies of French troops fought on his 
side. The war resolved itself into a guerrilla contest, in which great 
cruelties were perpetrated on both sides. The end of the Ameri- 
can civil war put the Government of the United States in a posi- 
tion to demand of Lotus Napoleon the withdrawal of the French 
forces. His own situation in France, and the state of public opinion 
there, prevented him from refusing this demand. The folly, as 
well as criminality, of the undertaking, had become more and 
more obvious. He therefore decided to violate his promises to 
Maximilian. Deserted thus by his defenders, this prince, who, 
although misled by ambition, had noble traits, was captured by the 
troops oi Juarez, tried by court-martial, and shot (1867). His 
wife Carlotta, the daughter of Leopold I. of Belgium, and the 
grand-daughter of Louis Philippe, failing in negotiations at 
Rome, had lost her reason. Juarez was installed in power at 
the capital. In 1868 and 1869, there was a succession of insur- 
rections and revolutions; but he was again elected in 1871, and 
died the next year. After that time, there was more tranquillity 
in Mexico, and much was done to develop the mines and other 
material resources of the country, and for public education. 

Diaz: Internal Improvements. — Vre?,ident Juarez died in 1872, 
and was succeeded by Lerdo de Tejada. Under him the authority 
of the State over the Church was maintained. The monastic orders 
were abolished. The democratic constitution, which had been 
framed in 1857, was amended (1873-4), and was afterwards up- 
held against the efforts of the reactionary or ecclesiastical party to 
overthrow it. In 1876, there were three claimants of the presi- 
dency, — Tejada, Iglesias, the chief justice, who denied the valid- 
ity of his election, and Gen. Porfirio Diaz, who was at the head 
of a revolt. Diaz established himself in power, and was succeeded 
in 1 880 by Manuel Gonzalez. On the expiration of his term ( 1 884) , 
Diaz was once more chosen to the same office. In 1891 an in- 
surrection, headed by Catarino Garza, a journalist, and General 
Riez Sandival, was directed against the Diaz government. It was 
put down and Diaz was re-elected president, July 11, 1892. Under 
Diazzw^\)Ss, coadjutors much was done for the development of the 



SOUTH AMERICAN STATES. 



615 



country. Mexico has advanced towards a stable government in 
the repubhcan form. 

SOUTH AMERICA. 

Brazil. — After returning to Portugal, King John recognized the 
independence of Brazil, and his son Dom Pedro as emperor of 
the country (1825), although John kept the title during his life- 
time (p. 553). The two crowns were not to be united. On the 
death of his father (1826), Dom Pedro resigned his claim to the 
throne of Portugal. His subsequent career in Brazil was a trou- 
blous one, owing to his contest with a liberal party. He returned 
to Spain in 1831. After his departure there were party contests 
under a regency. In 1840 D0771 Pedro II., who had been left be- 
hind in Brazil by his father, and was then fourteen years of age, 
was proclaimed emperor. Measures were taken against the slave- 
trade, and it was finally abolished; an effective plan for the gradual 
emancipation of slaves was adopted (1871). Rosas, dictator of 
Buenos Ayres, who intended to subvert the republics of Uriiguay 
and Paraguay, was defeated by the Brazilian forces and their allies 
(1852). A long war against Lopez, dictator of Paraguay, ended in 
his capture and death (1870). This war involved losses to Brazil 
in men and money. Under Dom Pedro II., public works, manu- 
factures, and commerce were promoted. A long strife of the 
government with the Catholic hierarchy ended in an accommoda- 
tion (1875). In November, 1889, as the result of a bloodless 
revolution, Dotn Pedro II. was dethroned, and a republican form 
of government declared. In Feb., 1891, Marshal Deodoro da 
Fonseca was confirmed as President, resigned in November, and 
was succeeded by Vice-President Floriano Peixoto, who held ofiice 
until Nov. 15, 1894, when Prudente de Moraes, the first Brazilian 
President elected by a popular vote, was inaugurated. 

Chili, Peru, Bolivia. — The contest of Chili with Peru and Bolivia 
has attracted special notice. Chili, after the formation of its con- 
stitution in 1833,— which resembles the constitution of the United 
States, — enjoyed remarkable prosperity. The strife to which we 
refer began between Chih and Bolivia. The point in dispute was 
the right to the province of Atacama, between Chili and Peru, 
the southern part of which was claimed by Chili. Bolivia claimed 
the whole. By a treaty in 1866, the territory in dispute was to 
be, under certain conditions, common property. A rivalry ex- 
isted between Chih and Peru, and a secret alliance was formed 
in 1873 between Peru and Bolivia. Bolivia now asserted her 
tide to the entire province of Atacama. The ArgeJitine Republic 
was disposed to take sides against Chih, but, in consequence of 
the success of the Chilians, remained neutral. The Chilians cap- 
tured (Oct. 8, 1879J the Peruvian iron-clad vessel, the Huascar. 
They gained other advantages, and took possession of the whole prov- 



5i6 MODERN HISTORY. 

ince, with its deposits of nitrate and guano. Revolutions ensued 
in Bolivia and Peru. Chilians took Lima, the Peruvian capital, and 
overran the country. Terms of peace proposed by Chili, involving 
large cessions of territory, were ratified by the Congress at Lima 
(March i, 1884). A treaty of peace was made between Chili and 
Bolivia (May 4). In Jan., 1891, war broke out in ChiH, resulting 
in the defeat of President Balmaceda in August. An assault on 
American seamen by Chilians in Valparaiso, Oct., 1891, caused 
strained relations between ChiH and the United States, the latter 
demanding apology and reparation. Chili compUed, Jan., 1892. 

CHINA AND JAPAN. 

China and Foreign Nations : The Taiping Rebellion. — In the 

recent period, there has been a gradual but grudging and reluctant 
opening of China to commercial mtercourse with foreign nations, 
and to the labors of Christian missionaries. In 1840 there began 
the first war with Great Britain, called the " opium war " for the 
reason that it was caused by the Chinese prohibition of the import- 
ing of that article. In the treaty at the end of the war, five ports 
were made free to British trade ; Liong-Kong was ceded to Eng- 
land ; and it was provided that the intercourse between the officials 
of the two nations should be on the basis of equality (1842). 
Two years later an advantageous treaty was concluded by the 
United States with China : a treaty was also concluded with France 
(1844). Aggressions of the Chinese led to a second war with 
Great Britain, in aUiance with France (1857-60) ; in which the 
Chinese fleet was destroyed, and Canton, a city of a miUion in- 
habitants, was captured. Treaties were made, but the infraction 
of them was followed by the capture of Peking (1859). In the 
settlement which immediately took place, toleration was granted 
to Christianity, and liberty to foreign ambassadors to reside at the 
capital. In 1868 Mr. Anson Burlingame, who had been United 
States minister to China, with two Chinese envoys, visited the 
powers which had made treaties with China, and negotiated agree- 
ments by which important principles of international law were 
mutually adopted. The most important domestic event in China, 
in recent times, is the '■'■Taiping'''' rebellion, which broke out in 
1850, in Southern China. Complaints of oppression and conse- 
quent disorder were brought to a climax on the accession of the 
young emperor, LLeeji-fung. The revolt spread from province to 
province, and found a leader in the person of Hi/ng Lew-tsetien, 
who called himself Teen- Wang (Celestial Virtue) . He proclaimed 
his purpose to overthrow the Manchu dynasty, and to restore the 
throne to the native Chinese. He claimed a divine commission, 
had caught up certain Christian ideas, and professed to be an 
adherent .of Christianity. Multitudes flocked to his standard. 



JAPAN. 617 

City after city fell into their hajids. The war with England and 
France operated in his favor. After the conclusion of peace, the 
government was more energetic and successful in its effort to sup- 
press the rebellion, and was helped by foreign officers, in particular 
by Major (afterwards General) Gordon. Nanking was recaptured 
(1864) ; and the revolt, which had been attended with an enor- 
mous destruction of hfe, came to an end. 

Japan and Foreign Nations. — Up to the year 1866, the actual 
rulers of Japan were the Shogiin, or emperor's lieutenant, who re- 
sided at Yedo, and the daimios, or territorial nobles, whose residence 
was also there. The Mikado, or emperor, lived in Kioto, sur- 
rounded by his relatives, the imperial nobles. There was a strict 
classification of the whole people, and a strict supervision of them, 
and the country was shut to foreigners. In 1853 Commodore 
Perry, of the United-States Navy, first entered the harbor of Yedo, 
and in 1854 returned, and negotiated a treaty with the Shogun, 
which opened certain ports to foreign trade, and to the admission 
of consuls. Treaties of a hke nature between Japan and the other 
principal nations were soon made. The Mikado and his court 
were deeply incensed at the Shogun''s usurpation of authority, 
and were at the same time hostile to the introduction of foreigners. 
Thus a double contest arose. There was an attempt to put down 
the Shogun, and to strip him of his authority, and to drive off the 
strangers. This last effort led the Mikado's officers to fire on 
the ships of the foreign nations. The punishment which these 
inflicted in the harbor of Shiinonoseki (1864) so impressed the 
emperor, in conjunction with his fear lest the foreigners should 
help the Shogun, that he completely reversed his policy, and pro- 
ceeded to remove the barriers to intercourse with them. The 
daimios, who had been compelled to live at Yedo, flocked to Kioto. 
The Mikado, countenanced by the foreigners, overcame the resist- 
ance of the party of the Shoguns. He removed his residence to 
Yedo, now called Tokio (1869). Feudalism was abolished (1871), 
and a constitution promulgated in 1889. The empire was thus 
united and strengthened. Institutions and customs of Western 
civilization were rapidly introduced. Political and legal reforms 
kept pace with the introduction of railroads and other material 
improvements. Christian missionaries actively engaged in preach- 
ing and teaching. 



6l8 MODERN HISTORY 

CHAPTER VII. 
THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 

During the last decade of the nineteenth century tendencies 
which years before had begun to appear became the dominant 
feature of the European situation. The old ideals of the Man- 
chester school — freer trade, more intimate and peaceful inter- 
course between nations, the right of each people to control its 
destiny, the development of hberal institutions — gave way to a 
policy of high protective tariffs and bitter commercial warfare, 
of constant increase in armaments, of eager rivalry in seizing the 
territory of less civilized and weaker peoples, accompanied, par- 
ticularly on the continent, by a decrease in the effectiveness of 
parliamentary government. Several of the great statesmen of the 
century yielded to new men. Although the close came without 
such wars as desolated Europe at the end of the eighteenth century, 
the heavy burdens which rested upon the taxpayer and the con- 
stant danger that the work of civiKzation would be rudely inter- 
rupted hardly justified the optimism of the earlier decades. The 
pronunciamento of the Czar Nicholas in favor of restricting the 
growth of armaments and the consequent establishment, in 1900, 
of an international tribunal of arbitration at the Hague held out 
hopes of a better future. 

England. — An analysis of the majority which Gladstone had 
obtained in the general election of 1892 showed that the pros- 
pects of Home Rule for Ireland were slight. This majority was 
composed of an English minority supported by Scottish, Welsh, 
and Irish groups. The bill which was introduced in the following 
year differed from the previous bill in that it did not withdraw the 
Irish members from Westminster. Although the House of Com- 
mons gave it a small majority, it was defeated in the Lords. 
Gladstone felt that his support was too precarious to force the 
question to a final settlement by an appeal to the country. He 
accordingly turned his attention to the remainder of his pro- 
gramme, the most important part of which was a Parish Councils 
bill. This aimed to do for local government in the parishes what 
the previous Salisbury ministry had done for local government in 
the counties. After the success of the bill was assured Gladstone 
withdrew, and Lord Rosebery became prime-minister. Gladstone 
spent the remainder of his life in retirement. The Rosebery 
ministry soon fell, and a new Salisbury ministry dissolved Parlia- 
ment. In the general election of 1895 the Conservatives and 
their allies, the Liberal-Unionists, received an overwhelming 
majority. This took the Home Rule question out of practical 
politics. Only through a series of minor concessions was the 



THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 619 

attempt to be made to satisfy Ireland's legitimate aspirations. 
This victory also showed that English public sentiment was ready 
to break definitely with the principles of Gladstone and his 
friends, and support a policy of energetic imperialism. The 
Queen, whose jubilee was again celebrated in 1897, died on Janu- 
ary 22, 1901. The new king, Edward VII., at the age of sixty-one, 
was crowned in 1902. 

Germany: Bismarck's Later Policy. — Since 1878, when Bis- 
marck abandoned his alliance with the National Liberals, he had 
been endeavoring to increase the financial strength of the empire 
by changing the customs and excise system, to conquer the 
socialists both by direct attack and by taking the working classes 
under the special care of the state, and, more recently, to procure 
for Germany colonial possessions. Although his new financial 
poHcy was definitely protectionist, his chief aim was to free the 
imperial government from the need of applying to the different 
states for a subvention. In consequence of his policy, the income 
from customs and excises rose in ten years from 230,000,000 marks 
to 700,000,000. But the plan of state subventions although 
altered in fact was preserved in appearance, for Bismarck was 
obliged to concede to Particularist jealousies that all income from 
these sources above 130,000,000 must be paid to the states and 
the-deficiency in the imperial treasury be made up in the usual 
manner. Later on, the new naval programme again made state 
contributions a reality. In the laws to protect the workingmen 
Bismarck affirmed this to be the duty of the Christian state ; he did 
not concede that such measures were simply the right of the work- 
men. The plan was carried out in three great laws : that of in- 
surance in case of illness (1883), in case of accident in mines or 
factories (1884), and in case of old age or incapacity (1889). 
These laws were enacted in the face of much outcry from em- 
ployers, and were effectively administered. They did not, how- 
ever, so far remove the grievances of the lower classes as to check 
the growth of the Social Democratic party. Although the party 
has since 1891 embodied in its programme the theories of Marx, 
it is not wholly sociahstic in character ; it is also a protest of the 
democratic spirit against the administration of Germany as an aristo- 
cratic, mihtary monarchy. In the face of repressive laws the party 
grew steadily, so that in 1890 it was able to cast 1,400,000 votes. 
The only force able to resist its advance was the Catholic Center, 
because the Cathohc Church included among its members all 
classes in the community ; while the Protestant Church, in the cities 
at least, was more generally composed of the employing class. 
From 1884 Bismarck had put Germany forward as an eager com- 
petitor for colonial acquisitions in Africa and the Pacific. The 
lands that Germany was able to obtain were hardly suited to dis- 



620 MODERN HISTORY. 

tinctively German settlement, and afforded comparatively little 
advantage to trade. 

Bismarck's Fall. — William 11. began by continuing the policies 
which had been characteristic of the closing years of his grand- 
father's reign. It was not long before he became restive under 
the leadership of Bismarck. He desired to make his own personal 
aims more prominent. In 1890 there was a struggle over the 
renewal of the laws against the socialists and a consequent general 
election. The Emperor seized the opportunity to declare his pur- 
pose to improve still further the situation of the working classes, 
and, with this in view, to call an international congress. In Prus- 
sia he declared it to be the duty of the state to regulate the condi- 
tions of labor. Such declarations took the control of the electoral 
campaign out of Bismarck's hands. One result was decided losses 
for the conservative groups. Bismarck tried to maintain his 
ascendency by insisting that, according to a cabinet order of 
Frederick WilUam IV., the king of Prussia must communicate 
with the ministers through the president of the council. William 
retorted by denying Bismarck's right to negotiate with the chiefs 
of the parliamentary groups, and by requiring a decree reversing 
the obnoxious cabinet order. On March 20 he demanded Bis- 
marck's resignation. Bismarck left Berlin, amid a great ovation a 
few days later. For some years he and his friends formed an 
unofficial center of opposition and criticism. He died in July, ' 
1898. 

Germany since Bismarck's Fall. — Bismarck's successors were 
Count Caprivi (1890-1894), Prince Hohenlohe (1894-1900), and 
Count Billow. It was tacitly recognized that the anti-sociahst 
laws had failed, and they were not renewed. The socialists as well 
as all other groups received the additional advantage that some- 
what later a law was passed permitting societies of all kinds to 
affiliate. It was estimated that in 1900 the Social Democrats con- 
trolled over 2,000,000 votes. The government vainly attempted 
to dike the rising flood by laws providing a practical censorship of 
art and of literature, but these had to be abandoned. In the par- 
liamentary life of Germany the most significant change was the 
disintegration of the old parties, the strengthening of such groups 
as the Cathohc Center and the Social Democrats, and the creation 
of a strong Agrarian party or interest. The Agrarians became 
prominent during the controversy over a commercial treaty with 
Russia. This treaty was part of a general attempt to develop the 
European market to make good the loss through the adoption of 
high tariffs in countries Hke America and France, and, at first, by 
Russia herself. Although Germany could not furnish enough 
grain to feed her own people, and there was a tariff on imported 
grain, the price kept falling, while the prices of manufactured arti- 



THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 62 1 

cles steadily increased. The peasants and the landowners felt 
that they were threatened with ruin. Accordingly they formed an 
alliance in 1893, and a parliamentary union which, from that time 
on, was so formidable as to force important concessions from the 
government. Among other important measures of this period were 
the adoption of a new Civil Code for the empire, to go into effect 
Jan. I, 1900 ; the reduction of the term of mihtary service to two 
years j and the efforts by the successive naval programmes of 1897 
and 1900 to create for Germany a strong sea power capable of 
supporting her trade and colonial aspirations. 

France: Boulanger. — In 1888 the continuance of the Republic 
was endangered by the support which many of its enemies and 
some of its ignorant friends lent to the pretensions of General 
Boulanger, who hid made himself popular as minister of war by 
his army reforms and by his belligerent attitude toward Germany. 
When he ceased to be minister, and particularly after he was de- 
prived of his mihtary command, he began an energetic propaganda 
for a revision of the constitution, with the cry " Dissolution, Revi- 
sion, Constituent." The royalists gave freely to further the cam- 
paign, hoping that moderate men would be frightened into calling 
the Count of Paris to the throne in order to save the country from 
another military empire. The Boulangists took skillful advantage 
of the fact that the deputies representing each department were 
elected "at large," and not on single district tickets, so that it 
was possible for Boulanger's name to be placed on each depart- 
mental ticket, and so in time to receive the votes of all France. 
With such a mandate it would be impossible for the moderate 
Republicans to resist him. For a time the scheme was successful. 
Boulanger was even elected on the Paris hst. Had he been will- 
ing to undertake a coup d'etat he might then have overthrown the 
Republic, but he wished for. a more peaceful triumph at the 
approaching general election. This his opponents deprived him 
of by abohshing the method of election "at large," so that each 
deputy was to represent a particular district. Boulanger was soon 
after attacked on a charge of treason before the Senate acting as a 
high court. He fled to Belgium and a little later committed sui- 
cide on the grave of his mistress. 

Panama Crisis. — Hardly had the danger from Boulanger sub- 
sided when, in 1892, many of the leading politicians were discred- 
ited by the disclosures made in the judicial investigation of the 
bankruptcy of the Panama Canal Company. It appeared that the 
company had spent large sums to muzzle the press, so that igno- 
rant investors should not discover the precarious condition of the 
enterprise. It had also contributed to the campaign expenses 
of friendly deputies and directly purchased votes in order to ob- 
tain authority to negotiate a loan in a manner ordinarily illegal. 



622 MODERN HISTORY. 

Although several duputies and senators were tried, no one was con- 
victed save an ex-minister, who confessed that he had accepted 
300,000 francs. Had the exposure come a little earlier, it must 
have led to the triumph of Boulanger. Its principal consequence 
was to bring new men of less tarnished reputations to the front. 

The Church. — In the same year the Church with direct en- 
couragement and even pressure from Pope Leo XIII. rallied to 
the support of the Republic. The pope issued an encyclical to 
French Catholics and followed this by a letter to the French cardi- 
nals. Many royaUsts were afflicted by this attitude, but nearly all 
were submissive. They called themselves the " constitutional 
party," but were also called the " rallied." Their watchword 
seemed to be, " Accept the constitution in order to modify legis- 
lation." 

Parties. — The radical revolutionary groups, which had been 
crushed in the suppression of the Commune of 187 1, and which 
had not been able to reconstitute themselves effectively until the 
amnesty of 1880, began in the early nineties to make their influ- 
ence more effective. This coincided with a general shifting of 
political power toward the Left. The assassination of President 
Carnot, in 1894, and the enthusiasm provoked by the cementing 
of the Russian alliance and by the coming of the Czar to Paris, 
prolonged the control of the moderates, or Progressists, as they 
were called in 1896. It was the persistent attacks of the radicals 
that disgusted Casimir-P^rier with the presidency. His successor 
was F€[\x Faure, a successful business man. When he died sud- 
denly in 1899, ifemile Loubet was chosen by the support of the 
groups of the Left. Before the moderate Republicans lost control 
they revolutionized the economic policy of France, substituting for 
practical free trade and commercial treaties a high protective 
tariff. 

Dreyfus Case. — France had not recovered from the shock of 
the Panama scandal before she was involved in another scandal 
far more subtle in its demoralizing influence. Jealousy of the 
success of Jewish financiers, strengthened by the common feeling 
that capitaUsts are enriched by ill-gotten gains, led to an obscure 
campaign against the Jews and all capitalists. The reminiscences 
of Panama did not allay these feelings. Soon the royalists seized 
this instrument as a means of discrediting the Republic, asserting 
that it had been organized through the influence of German-Jew- 
ish immigrants who were enriching themselves at the expense of 
the thrifty but guileless French. It was also asserted that Jews 
in the army were betraying its secrets to their German kindred. As 
the army was universally popular, this was an effective blow at the 
Jews. The denouement was the arrest of Captain Dreyfus, his 
degradation, and his confinement on an island off the coast of 



THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 623 

French Guiana. The evidence had been sHght, and it was dis- 
credited when a courageous officer of the Intelhgence Department 
told his superiors that even this had been constructed by a Major 
Esterhazy. The officer, Colonel Picquart, was removed, and his 
place taken by Colonel Henry, who undertook to supply the 
necessary evidence. Although he imposed on the minister of war, 
he was unable to endure the moral strain, especially after distin- 
guished men like Zola became champions of the innocency of 
Dreyfus, and he committed suicide after making a confession. 
The government was obliged to bring the case before the Court 
of Cassation in 1898, which ordered a new trial. Although 
Dreyfus was again convicted by a miUtary court, he was immedi- 
ately pardoned by the President. 

Other Countries. — After 1897 the situation in Austro-Hungary 
became precarious, owing to the difficulties which arose when the 
time came to renew the Ausgleich, or agreement, between Austria 
and Hungary, first made in 1867. Neither portion of the empire 
was satisfied with its part of the bargain. As the Hungarians 
always stood together in any struggle with Austria, they were likely 
to get the better of the bargain. There was the additional diffi- 
culty that no agreement of any sort could be adopted in the 
Austrian parliament, which had become hopelessly disorganized 
through the savage conflicts between the various groups, Germans, 
Czechs, anti-Semites, etc. The only way to prevent the actual 
dissolution of the empire was to renew the agreement in behalf of 
Austria by imperial warrant. Another country belonging to the 
Triple Alliance, Italy, was brought into trouble by the policy of 
extravagant expansion, pursued especially under the leadership 
of Crispi. But the disastrous defeat by the Abyssinians at Adowa, 
in 1896, gave pause to the plans of such statesmen. Spain also 
suffered disaster in this period, first through the outbreak of revolt 
in Cuba, and then through the loss of the remnant of her once 
splendid colonial empire in consequence of the war with the 
United States. 

European Diplomacy. — The foundation of the Triple Alliance 
had been laid by the treaty between Germany and Austria. To 
this Italy had acceded in 1883. Such a combination tended to 
bring Russia and France together, especially as Russia began to see 
that the only power pursuing a policy favorable to her desires 
was France. Finally Russian and French officers were authorized 
to arrange for the possible cooperation of armies in case of war, 
and in 1894 a military convention was completed. That there 
came to be a definite understanding still more comprehensive has 
been generally believed, but its terms were not divulged. The 
French minister of foreign affairs used the word " aUiance " in the 
Chamber of Deputies in 1895, and two years later, when President 



624 MODERN HISTORY. 

Faure visited the Czar at St. Petersburg, the Czar used the phrase 
" two great nations, friends and allies." The consequence of 
these two alliances, and of the peaceful policy pursued by England, 
was the localizing of difficulties and the maintenance of a " con- 
cert " on all questions likely to embroil Europe. This was evident 
from the treatment of the Eastern, the African, and the Far East- 
ern questions. 

Armenia. — Bulgarian affairs had not received their final solution 
at the Berlin Congress, for the peaceful revolution of Philippopolis 
in 1885 had forcibly reunited Bulgaria and East Roumelia. But 
the powers did not recognize the change until Prince Alexander 
had withdrawn, and Prince Ferdinand had placed himself more 
under Russian tutelage, making this emphatic by the decision 
to bring up his son, Prince Boris, according to the Greek rite. 
The success of Bulgaria rendered the Armenians envious. Discon- 
tent at the failure to carry out the reforms promised by the treaty 
of Berlin led to the formation of a revolutionary party which hoped 
by provoking a Turkish repression, similar to the Bulgarian ''atroci- 
ties," to necessitate a new European intervention. Such a scheme 
was opposed by American missionaries and by the native clergy, 
for they saw that it was doomed to disaster. The revolutionists 
endeavored to compromise the missionaries by posting their 
placards on the walls of the American college at Marsivan. The 
suspicions of the Turks were directed against the missionaries, and 
the Girls' Schoolhouse was burned by a mob. Ostensibly to 
capture agitators the Kurds followed by the regular troops perpe- 
trated terrible massacres in the mountain villages of Sasiin in 1893 
and 1894. The powers could not agree upon any common plan 
to check such evils, and when they did force upon the Sultan a 
scheme of reform, it served only as a signal for worse massacres, 
which recurred chronically until the final massacre in Constanti- 
nople in August, 1896. As the "concert" was honeycombed by 
jealousies, it was impossible to do more than prevent the develop- 
ment of this horror into a general European war. England was 
unable to intervene separately because of the hostile attitude of 
Russia. Such statesmen as Lord Salisbury recognized that Eng- 
land's traditional support of Turkey had been discredited by such 
events. When, in the following year, war broke out between 
Greece and Turkey, and when Crete fell into a state of anarchy, the 
powers were more successful in their common action, for they 
were able to mitigate the terms which the victorious Turks 
demanded, and to withdraw Crete from direct Turkish control. 

Egypt. — The history of Egypt touches both the situation in the 
Turkish empire and the more general situation of Africa and the 
routes to the Far East. England's occupation of Egypt, at first 
considered temporary, gave her practical control of the Suez 



THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 625 

Canal ; it also gave her a strong position in the eastern Mediter- 
ranean, the lack of which had been one reason for her hostility to 
the treaty of San Stefano in 1878. The problem of the equatorial 
provinces had remained vexatious ever since the triumph of the 
Mahdi and of his successor, the Kalifa. Any attempt to begin a 
campaign for their recovery was hindered by the pecuhar financial 
condition of Egypt. As all the funds were either mortgaged to 
creditors, or at least under an international control not favorable to 
the presence of England, the only money absolutely under the con- 
trol of the Egyptian government was a special reserve fund, the re- 
sult of painful administrative economies. But the necessity of an 
advance was imperative. Although the attempt of the Congo Free 
State to estabhsh a permanent foothold in the upper Nile basin had 
been checked by England, France was striving to extend her ter- 
ritorial possessions straight across from Senegal to Jibutil, on the 
Gulf of Aden. Major Marchand had left Paris secretly in 1896 
with this mission. In this year also the defeat of the Italians at 
Adowa, and the pressure of the troops of the Kalifa upon Kassala, 
held by the Italians for the Enghsh, did not permit longer delay. 
A great preparatory work had been done in the ten years previous. 
A new army had been created. The advance began in March, 
under the leadership of Sir Herbert Kitchener. One of its most 
effective and brilliant features was the construction in the following 
year of a railway 230 miles across the Nubian desert to save a 
river journey of 600 miles. The decisive campaign took place in 
1898, with the battle on the Atbara and the crushing defeat of the 
Kalifa at Omdurman in September. During the summer Marchand 
had been establishing posts in the upper Nile region as far as 
Fashoda. Kitchener immediately proceeded thither, raised the 
English and Egyptian flags near by, leaving the settlement of the 
question to diplomacy. The French, not being supported by 
Russia in an aggressive attitude, were obliged to give way, and their 
sphere of influence was not to include any portion of the Nile 
basin. The war had been economically managed, so that Egyptian 
finances were not seriously disarranged. The help that England 
was obliged to give justified her in considering the Sudan as terri- 
tory held jointly by her and by Egypt. The general consequence 
of English rule in Egypt has been a reduction of taxation, and, at 
the same time, the collection of a larger revenue. Vast public 
improvements, hke the dam at Assouan, also added to the resources 
of the country. 

Africa. — Although Africa since 1885 had been the subject of 
an important conference at Berlin and of various international 
agreements it was, strictly speaking, beyond the sphere of action 
of the European concert. Its partition among the European 
states, a movement originating in the expeditions of Livingstone 



626 MODERN HISTORY. 

and Stanley, went on rapidly from 1884. The Congo Free State, 
which at first promised to be an international enterprise, speedily 
changed into a territorial possession of the king of Belgium. 
When in 1890 it became necessary for him to raise funds for the 
support of his rule, it was agreed that the reversion of the territory 
belonged to Belgium as a colony. King Leopold, as already re- 
marked, made an attempt to establish his authority over a part of 
the upper Nile basin, but here he was thwarted by the ambition 
of both England and France. England undertook to lease the 
Bahr-el-Ghazal in consideration of the lease from him of a strip 
fifteen and a half miles wide along the eastern border of the state, 
in order to make possible the scheme of a railway on land under 
British control from " the Cape to Cairo." This scheme was 
defeated by the Germans as well as by the French. The Portu- 
guese were in turn prevented from extending their holdings from 
Angola to Mozambique. The French and the English, though 
each disappointed in their extreme purposes, made substantial 
gains ; England in the regions north of the Cape, across the Zam- 
bezi, in Uganda, and in the Sudan ; France in western and north- 
ern Africa, so that all the northwest, except the coast colonies and 
the independent Sultanate of Morocco, came under her power. 
France also turned her protectorate of Madagascar into a colonial 
possession. England's policy of expansion, together with difficul- 
ties arising out of the gold mining industry, involved her in a war 
with the Boer republics, the South African Republic and the 
Orange Free State. The center of the mining industry was Johan- 
nesberg. So rich were the mines that the foreign population there 
soon outnumbered the Boers. These foreigners, or uitlanders, 
desired all the privileges of Englishmen, although they had be- 
come residents in a state ruled by primitive agriculturists. They 
claimed that their industry was ruinously hampered by unwise taxa- 
tion. So great did their sense of wrong become that they entered 
into an arrangement with Cecil Rhodes, premier of Cape Colony, 
and with Dr. Jameson, administrator of the South African Char- 
tered Company, in accordance with which, at a given signal, they 
were to rise and Dr. Jameson with armed troopers was to come to 
their assistance. Dr. Jameson did not wait for the signal, the 
scheme broke down, and he and his troops were captured. To 
the Boers all this seemed to be an English plot against their inde- 
pendence, and so they became more suspicious. Through a series 
of incidents the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, was led 
to attempt to extort by force from the Boers the desired conces- 
sions. Before the diplomatic campaign was well begun new issues 
were introduced, both parties began to prepare for war, and finally 
in October, 1899, the Boers took the initiative and invaded the 
British colonies. The war was at first disastrous for the English, 



THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 627 

but finally through a large army under Lord Roberts the Boers 
were driven from both the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, 
which were occupied and declared to be colonies of the empire. 
But it was not until three years after the beginning of the war that 
the last Boer bands were compelled by Lord Kitchener to surren- 
der, and the country was pacified. England's influence in South 
Africa was greatly strengthened by this victory, although her pres- 
tige in the world at large was somewhat compromised. 

The Far East. — Before the close of the century the interest 
which had once belonged to the near East was transferred to the 
Far East. The first indication of this was the action of the powers 
at the close of the war which broke out between Japan and China, 
in 1894, over their relations to Korea. Japan was triumphant, 
demonstrating in the battle of the Yaloo River the superiority of 
her new navy. She occupied the peninsula of Liaotung and Port 
Arthur, a harbor of strategic importance. She demanded a ces- 
sion of this peninsula, together with Formosa and a large in- 
demnity. Russia, Germany, and France intervened and kept Japan 
from estabhshing herself on the mainland. This action did not 
appear altogether in the interest of China, for each of the three 
powers soon asked of China quite as important concessions for 
themselves, — France in the south, Germany at Kiaochow, and 
Russia at Port Arthur, — which compelled England to guard her 
interests by leasing Wei-hai-wei, opposite Port Arthur. At this 
time began the marking out of spheres of influence, a practical 
partition of China, accompanied by demands of all sorts of 
railway and mining concessions. This unedifying pressure from 
aggressive Europeans seemed for a time to awaken China. The 
emperor began to urge forward reform. It was thought that 
China might follow in the footsteps of Japan, but suddenly there 
was a palace revolution, the dowager-empress seized control, and 
the reformers had to fly for their lives. Closely following this 
came a serious anti-foreign outbreak, led by " the Boxers," and 
encouraged by certain high officials. Before Europe was aware of 
the gravity of the situation it was alarmed by the report that the 
foreign legations at Pekin had been besieged, captured, and mas- 
sacred. Although this was a false report, it was true that from 
June 20 to August 14, 1899, the legations were besieged, partly 
by a mob and partly by Chinese regulars. The siege was raised by 
a mixed expedition of European and Japanese troops sent from 
the coast. The satisfaction with which the news of rescue was re- 
ceived in Europe was chilled by stories that some portions of the 
expeditionary corps had been guilty of crimes only to be paral- 
leled in the history of European wars in the seventeenth century. 
After the war a difficult diplomatic question remained, all the 
more puzzling because the ambitions of the powers prevented any 



628 MODERN HISTORY. 

hearty agreement among them. These questions were only in 
appearance settled by the signing of the protocol in January, 1901. 
Attention was fixed upon Russia, supported by a new instrument 
of influence, the Trans-Siberian railway, because it aj^peared to be 
her purpose to establish her power in Manchuria on a permanent 
basis. 

Australia. — During the Boer war the English colonies by their 
loyal and generous cooperation strengthened the bonds of empire 
and forced to the front schemes to render the imperial tie more 
practically beneficial and effective. One of these groups succeeded 
in completing its own federal organization. This was Australia. 
Active effort towards federation was begun in 1889 by Sir Henry 
Parkes, but not until six years later was public sentiment sufficiently 
aroused. The main difficulty, as in the case of the American 
colonies, was to reconcile the differing trade-interests and to 
establish a proper balance between the larger and the smaller 
states. Finally, in 1900, these difficulties were overcome, and all 
the colonies save New Zealand voted to become parts of the com- 
monwealth of Australia. Each state was to have six senators, and 
to be represented in the lower house in proportion to its popula- 
tion, although no state was to have fewer than five representatives. 
Matters of taxation were more fully intrusted to the lower house 
than in the United States. For a time it seemed impossible to 
settle the dehcate questions of appeal to the Judicial Committee 
of the Privy Council of England, the only instrument of control 
left in the hands of the home government, but this was settled by 
a judicious compromise. During the last decade not only Australia, 
but also New Zealand, made many interesting attempts to solve 
labor and social problems by legislation. Although the prosperity 
of Australia received heavy blows after 1890, it began to recover 
after 1895, and to advance towards its earlier level. 

United States: Cleveland's Second Administration. — Although 
the McKinley tariff aided in elevating its author to the presidency, 
its first pohtical consequences were not helpful to the Republican 
party. In 1892 there was a popular cry for tariff reduction, and 
Cleveland was triumphantly elected by the Democrats, who also 
obtained control of both houses of Congress. President Cleve- 
land's purpose of reforming the tariff was hindered at first by a 
grave financial and industrial crisis, which came in the spring of 
1893. The causes of this crisis were the extravagant inflation of 
business during the preceding years, a financial policy accompa- 
nied by the purchase for coinage of vast quantities of silver, and 
the natural timidity of capital while the economic policy of the 
government was in danger of fundamental change. The oppo- 
nents of the administration took skillful advantage of the panic to 
bring its poHcies into discredit. So great was the stringency of the 



THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 629 

money market, especially on account of the depletion of the gold 
reserve in the treasury, that President Cleveland was obliged to 
call an extra session of Congress, and to urge upon that body the 
repeal of the law requiring the monthly purchases of silver for 
coinage. This measure, adopted by the Senate with evident 
reluctance in the late fall, did not wholly relieve the situation, and 
to maintain the gold reserve and defend its credit the government 
was forced four times to issue bonds for more gold, the conse- 
quence of which was the increase of the pubhc debt by over 
^262,000,000. During the controversies upon monetary legisla- 
tion, the President had alienated many members of his party in 
the House, and particularly in the Senate. He was unable to 
bring them together for such tariff legislation as had been prom- 
ised. A bill was passed which also embodied income tax provi- 
sions, and this bill became a law without the President's signature. 
Not long afterwards the Supreme Court declared the income-tax 
clauses unconstitutional. Since the tariff bill did not produce the 
expected revenue, the government was obliged to face an ominous 
deficit. The President, however, by his courage and honesty, 
upheld the national credit despite attacks from his own party. 
His foreign policy, save in one instance, was conservative. He 
refused to take advantage of the Hawaiian revolution to bring on 
the annexation of those islands, and he endeavored to maintain 
the neutrality of the United States in the struggle between Spain 
and the Cuban revolutionists ; but he intervened in a boundary 
dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela, insisting that the 
question should be submitted to arbitration rather than be settled 
on the terms imposed by the stronger. 

McKiiiley Administration. — In the campaign of 1896 the older 
leaders of the democracy were thrust aside and WiUiam J. Bryan 
became the party candidate, with the free coinage of silver at the 
ratio of 16 to i as its watchword. This appealed strongly to the 
distressed debtor class, very numerous in the West on account of 
the " hard times." The tone of the platform and of the speeches 
of the leaders was such as to attract the workingmen. The Repub- 
licans nominated McKinley, with the promise to reenact the 
former tariff legislation, to foster industries, and to protect the 
financial credit of the country. The success of the Republicans 
was at first doubtful ; but the conservative interests became alarmed, 
and finally the Republicans gained a decisive victory. By the 
time President McKinley was inaugurated, the peiriod of business 
liquidation and readjustment was over, confidence had returned, 
and so the new President became, as campaign placards of his party 
had announced, " the advance agent of prosperity." The tariff was 
restored to its older level, the monetary system was reformed, and 
the gold standard legally established. It was not this legislation, 



630 MODERN HISTORY. 

however, that rendered the period significant ; it was the adoption 
of a new national poUcy of expansion, incident to the war with 
Spain. The Spaniards had been unable to put down the Cuban 
insurrection. The drastic measures, especially the policy of 
" reconcentration " adopted by General Weyler, had discredited 
the Spanish cause. The ancient tradition of Spain's cruelty to 
her colonies predisposed the American people to credit reports of 
atrocity. The administration was apparently anxious to perform 
its duties as a friendly power, but this was rendered more and 
more difficult owing to the growing popular demand for interven- 
tion. On the 15 th of February, 1898, the American battleship 
Maine was blown up in Havana harbor. Although there was no 
decisive proof that this was due to the Spaniards, there was no 
doubt of it in the popular mind. A little later the Spaniards were 
ready to make any concessions short of an actual abandonment of 
their sovereignty. It was now too late. There was an irresistible 
demand for war, and war was declared in April. The result was 
inevitable, and Spain was obliged to yield sooner than was antici- 
pated. Her fleet at Manila was destroyed by Admiral Dewey, 
May I, and her West India squadron by the fleet in which Rear 
Admiral Sampson held the chief command, on July 3. Mean- 
time a small American army had rendered Santiago untenable. 
After the surrender of Santiago, Porto Rico was soon overrun. 
Manila, which had been under the American guns since May, was 
also forced to surrender. A protocol signed in August led to the 
negotiation of peace in December. According to its terms, not 
only was Cuba to be evacuated, but Porto Rico, the Philippines, 
and the Ladrones were to become American possessions. In this 
way a war begun because of popular sympathy with the Cubans, 
turned into a means of territorial expansion. The resistance to 
the poHcy of an expansion of this sort was strong in certain sec- 
tions of the country. Many senators held similar opinions, long 
delaying the ratification of the treaty of peace. 

Colonial Problems. — Simultaneously with the ratification of the 
peace, war broke out in the Phihppines between the American 
army and the natives, whose leaders had been bent on securing 
independence. The American troops easily defeated the organized 
native armies, though one consequence of the struggle was wide- 
spread ruin in the island of Luzon ; but they were unable for over 
two years to pacify the country. Even before these troubles were 
ended, measures were taken to substitute a civil for a military 
administration, which went into effect in the summer of 1901. 
Porto Rico was organized as a partly autonomous territory, and 
although on its trade with the United States there was not at 
first a full freedom from tariff restrictions, these subsequently 
disappeared. In dealing with Cuba there had been no formal 



THE LAST DECADE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 63 1 

recognition of the revolutionary organization. It was suspected 
by many that the miUtary occupation would be prolonged until 
annexation was brought about, but the President insisted upon the 
fulfilment of the pledges which had been made at the beginning 
of the war. A Cuban convention agreed to a treaty in accordance 
with which the United States acquired the right to intervene to 
guarantee the independence of the island should this be endan- 
gered by entanglements with foreign states. The Cubans also 
promised to sell or lease to the United States sites for naval sta- 
tions. The army of occupation was then withdrawn, and the new 
government inaugurated in 1902. Even before the outbreak of 
the war. President McKinley had endeavored to bring about the 
annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, but it required such a pressing 
need of a controlling position in the mid-Pacific, as the hostilities 
emphasized, to overcome the opposition. It was not until after 
the war closed that the islands were organized as a territory. 
About the same time England withdrew from her joint control of 
Samoa, and Germany agreed with the United States for a partition 
of the group. Active preparations were also made for the building 
of an interoceanic canal through Nicaragua or the Isthmus of 
Panama on the route laid out by the French. With these ques- 
tions of expansion and colonial government, other equally impor- 
tant problems, growing out of the new period of prosperity, 
agitated the public mind, particularly the formation of gigantic 
corporations, a form of organization which tended to supersede 
the trusts. As the state laws were helpless to check abuse of 
power by such corporations, there was a growing demand for the 
better enforcement of the national laws already enacted or the 
adoption of other laws more effective. In 1900 McKinley was 
reelected, Bryan again being put forward by the Democrats. A 
few months after his inauguration, while he was visiting the Pan- 
American Exposition at Buffalo, he was fatally shot by an anarchist. 
Upon his death, the Vice-President, Theodore Roosevelt, became 
President. 



CHAPTER VHI. 



DISCOVERY AND INVENTION: SCIENCE AND LITERATURE : 
PROGRESS OF HUMANE SENTIMENT: PROGRESS TOWARD 
THE UNITY OF MANKIND. 

As an era of invention and discovery, the nineteenth century is 
a rival of the fifteenth. 

Geographical Discoveries. — Too much was already known of the 
globe to leave room for another so stupendous discovery as that of the New 
World. Nevertheless, many important geographical discoveries have been 
made, especially since about 1825. Geographical societies without number 



632 MODERN HISTORY. 

have been founded, of which the Royal Geographical Society in England 
(1830) is one of the best known. Geographical knowledge is increased in 
two ways, — first, by the discovery of places not before known ; and secondly, 
by the scientific examination of countries and districts, with accurate surveys, 
and the making of maps. In both these departments, especially in the latter, 
the recent period won distinction. The Russians in their advance rendered 
the regions of Northern and Central Asia accessible to travelers. Not only 
India, but also extensive districts in Central Asia, have been explored by the 
British. China has been traversed by a succession of travelers, and Japan has 
unbarred its gates for the admission of foreigners. Abyssinia has been trav- 
ersed. The mystery respecting the sources of the Nile has been dispelled by 
Speke, Gra}it, and Baker. In 1S22 and 1825 Clapperton, in two journeys, 
went over the whole route from Tripoli to the coast of Guinea. In 1830 
Richa7'd and JoJui Lander settled the question as to the outlet of the Niger. 
Barth, and other later explorers, have carried forward the study of the course 
of this great river, in the exploration of which Mungo Park lost his life 
(1806). In 1 81 6 the Congo was explored to the falls of Yellala. The travels 
of Schweinfiirth, Livingst07ie, Barth, Cameron, and Stanley have greatly 
enlarged our acquaintance with formerly unknown portions of the African 
continent. In 1879 Stanley, commissioned by King Leopold of Belgium, 
opened up communication with the populous basin of the Congo. During 
the struggle of the European states to acquire colonial territory, no part of the 
continent remained unexplored. European rivalries also had similar impor- 
tant consequences to geography in Asia, especially in the Trans-Caspian 
region and in Tibet. Dr. Sven Hedin was the most successful of the explorers 
in Tibet, traversing wholly unknown districts. Unknown regions on the Ameri- 
can continent, in South America, in far north-western North America, and in 
Labrador, have been visited. The same is true of the interior of Australia. 
The eagerness to find a north-western passage (and later in scientific explora- 
tion) has led to hazardous and not unfruitful expeditions under Ross, Parry, 
Franklin, Kane, Markham, McClintock, Greely, and other voyagers. In 
1875 Markham reached the highest latitude that up to that time had been 
attained (83° 21' 26"). A still higher point (86° 14') was reached by Dr. 
Nansen who in 1893 started to drift in the Fram across the polar regions. 
In 1892 Lieutenant Peary crossed Greenland from the west coast to a part of the 
north-east coast never before visited. The Antarctic seas were also explored 
first by the Challenger in 1874. By 1900 the farthest point reached was 
78° 50'. Geography has become a much more profound and instructive 
science. The physical character of the globe, and of the atmosphere that 
surrounds it, have been studied in their relation to man and history. Physical 
geography, or physiography, has thus arisen. In recent years scientists have 
gone far in the study of the physical geography of the sea, in making maps 
of its bottom, and in the endeavor to define the system of oceanic winds and 
currents. In connection with physical geography, the distriliution of animal 
life on the land and in the depths of the sea has been studied, and much valu- 
able information gained. 

Four Inventions. — Among the useful inventions of the present century, 
there are four which are of preeminent consequence. The honor connected 
with each of these, as is generally the case with great inventions, belongs to 
no individual exclusively. Several, and in some cases many persons, can fairly 
claim a larger or smaller share in it. (i) The most efficient agent in bring- 
ing the stea7?i-engine to perfection was yames Watt (1736-1819), a native of 
Scotland. (2) In connection with the application of steam to navigation, no 
name stands higher than that of Robert Fulton. (3) Carriages on railroads 
were at first drawn by horses. In 1814 George Stephenson, in England, in- 
vented the locomotive, and afterwards (1829) an improved construction of it. 



PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 633 

The first great railroad for the transportation of passengers began to run 
between Manchester and Liverpool in 1830. Remarkable achievements in 
engineering have been connected with the construction of railways. The 
Alps were pierced, and the Mont Cenis tunnel was completed in 1S71. The 
principal civilized countries have gradually become covered with networks of 
railways. The whole method of transportation of the products of industry 
has been altered by them. Besides their vast influence in facilitating and 
stimulating travel and trade, they have modified the method of conducting 
warfare, with very important results. (4) In contriving the electric telegraph, 
Wheatstone, an Englishman, Oersted, a Dane, and Henry, an American, had 
each an important part. The most simple and efficient form of the tele- 
graphic instrument is admitted to be due to the inventive sagacity of Morse 
(1837). His instrument was first put in use in 1844. The first submarine 
wires connecting Europe with America transmitted messages in 1858, be- 
tween England and the United States. Since that time numerous submarine 
cables have been laid in different parts of the globe. Upon the invention of 
the telegraph, another invention — that of the telephone — has followed, by 
which conversation can be held with the voice between distant places. By 
the phonograph it has become possible to reproduce audibly songs, speeches, 
and conversations. Still more recently a system of wireless telegraphy has 
been invented by which messages may be sent even across the Atlantic with- 
out the use of a cable. 

The Suez Canal, a channel for ships, connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and 
the Indian Ocean, and opening thus a shorter highway by water between Europe and the East, 
was officially opened on the 17th of November, 1869. 

Uses of Steam. — The practical applications of steam, besides its use 
in the propulsion of vessels, and of carriages on railways, are numberless. 
It is 'used, for example, in automobiles, in traction engines, in plowing and 
harvesting machinery, in fire-engines, in road-rollers, and in all sorts of hoist- 
ing and conveying machinery. 

Steam forge hammers were invented by Nasmyth, an engineer of Manchester, in 1839. 
In a multitude of industrial occupations, where water-power was once used, or tools and 
machines whose use involved muscular exertion, the work is now done by the energy of steam. 
More recently electricity has been displacing steam not only on street railroads and suburban 
railroads, but also in many other industrial processes, as well as the lighting of buildings and 
streets. 

Tools and Machines. — In modern days no small amount of skill has 
been directed to the devising of tools and machines for the more facile and 
exact production of whatever costs labor. Factories have become monu- 
ments of ingenuity, and museums in the useful arts. Improved machinery 
lightens the toil of the sailor. Machines in a great variety facilitate agri- 
cultural labor. They open the furrow, sow the seed, reap and winnow the 
harvest. In-doors, the sewing-machine performs a great part of the labor 
formerly done by the fingers of the seamstress. The art of printing has 
attained to a marvelous degree of progress. Hoeh printing-press, moved by 
steam, seizes on the blank paper, severs it from the roll in sheets of the right 
size, prints it on both sides, and folds it in a convenient shape, — all with 
miraculous rapidity. Inventions in rock-boring and rock-drilling have made 
it possible to tunnel mountains. The use of explosives for mechanical pur- 
poses is a highly important fact in connection with the modern labor-saving 
inventions. 

India Rubber. — Shoes made of caoutchouc, the thickened milky juice 
of the india-rubber plant, were imported from Brazil to Boston as early as 
1825. Improvements in the use of this material, in the solid form and in 
solution, were made by Mr. Macintosh of Glasgow, and Tho)?tas Hancock of 
Newington, England, about 1820. From the dissolved caoutchouc, a coating 
was obtained making garments water-proof. In 1839 Charles Goodyear, an 



634 MODERN HISTORY. 

American, discovered the process of vulcanizing india-rubber, — that is, pro- 
ducing in it a chemical change whereby its valuable qualities are greatly en- 
hanced. The material thus procured was applied to a great number of uses. 
It enters into a great variety of manufactured articles. 

Enginery of War. — A continual advance has been made in the con- 
struction of the implements of war. The whole science and art of war have 
been fundamentally changed, mainly in consequence of these modern inven- 
tions. Reference may be made to the invention of rifled cannon, heavier 
ordnance, breech-loading guns, and shells and explosive bullets. It was the 
needle-gun of the Prussians, which gave them a signal advantage in their war 
with the French. The building of armored battle ships has been followed by 
the construction of small swift vessels from which to launch torpedoes at the 
battle ships. Other swift vessels have been constructed to pursue and destroy 
the torpedo boat. High explosives and smokeless powder have also been in- 
vented. 

The Telescope and Microscope. — Among the instruments which 
have promoted the extension of science, the microscope, with its modern im- 
provements, is one of the most interesting. It has aided discovery in botany, 
in physiology, in mineralogy, and in almost all other branches of science. It 
has even assisted in the detection of crime. The large refracting telescopes 
have been constructed within the last few decades. Telescopes have recently 
been used with increasing success in photographing the heavens with accuracy. 

Instruments in Medicine and Surgery. — The microscope has 
rendered inestimable service to the healing art. Rare ingenuity has been 
exerted in contriving surgical instruments by which difficult operations are 
performed with comparative safety and without pain. In medicine and sur- 
gery, the discovery of ancEsihetics for the general or partial suspending of 
nervous sensibility is one of the triumphs of practical science in later times. 
Chloroform was brought into general use in the medical profession in 1847; 
although it had been discovered, and had been used by individuals in the 
profession, much earlier. Nitrous oxide was first used by Horace Wells, a 
dentist of Hartford, in the extraction of a tooth (1844). In 1846 the great 
discovery of anesthetic ether, by Morton of Boston, was first applied in sur- 
gery. Jackson and others were claimants, with more or less justice, to a part 
in the honors of this discovery. Lately cocaine has been found to benumb 
the sensibility of the more delicate membranes, as those of the eye and the 
throat. In auscultation, or the ascertaining of the state of the internal organs 
by listening to their sound, a very valuable instrument is the stethoscope. The 
principle of the ophthalmoscope, that wonderful instrument for inspecting the 
interior of the eye, was expounded by Helmholtz in 1851. By its aid, not 
only the condition of that organ is explored, but indications of certain diseases 
in the brain, and in other parts of the body, are discovered. Helmholtz did 
an equal work in acoustics. The recent discovery and use of the X-rays has 
assisted surgeons in locating foreign substances and in diagnosing disease. 

The Spectroscope : Photography. — In connection with the phe- 
nomena of light, the spectroscope, by which the chemical elements entering 
in the composition of the sun and of other heavenly bodies are ascertained, 
is one of the marvels of the age. The way was paved for this discovery by a 
succession of chemists and opticians, — Fraunhofer (1814), Brewster (1832), 
Sir John Herschel (1822), J. IV. Draper, and others; but the instrument was 
devised by Kirchhoff and Bunsen. Photography, or the art of making per- 
manent sun-pictures, is the result of the labors oi Niepce (who died in 1833), 
Daguerre (1839), Box Talbot, an Englishman, y. IV. Draper, and other men 
of science and practical artisans. Instantaneous photography has been of 
much service in the observation of eclipses and other astronomical phe- 
nomena. Progress has also been made in color-photography. 



PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 635 

The Conservation of Energy. — Perhaps the most important con- 
clusion of physical science v\hich has been reached in the recent period is 
the doctrine of the conservation of energy. Chemists had shown that the 
sum of matter always remains the same. In the transformations of chemistry 
no matter is destroyed, however it may change its form. Now, it has been 
proved that the quantity of power or energy is constant. If lost in one body, 
it reappears in another; if it ceases in one form, it is exerted in another, and 
this according to definite ratios. One form of energy is convertible into 
another : heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemical action, are so related 
that one can be made to produce either of the others. This fact is termed 
the correlation of physical forces. Connected with the discovery of it are 
Meyer in Germany, and Grove and Joule in England. It has been expounded 
by Sir William Thompson, Helmholtz, Tail, JMaxivell, etc. The truth was 
elucidated by Tyndall in his Heat considered as a Mode of Motion, and 
by Balfour Stewart in his Co7iservation of Energy. But' Cotint Rumford, 
an American (1753-1814), the real founder of the Royal Institution, long ago 
opened the path for this discovery by furnishing the data for computing the 
mechanical equivalent of heat. 

Geology and Paleontology. — In geology, from the publication of 
LyelVs work (1830), the tendency has more and more prevailed to explain 
the geological structure of the earth by the slow operation of forces now in 
action, rather than by violent convulsions and catastrophes. In 1831 Sedg- 
tvick and iMurchison, likewise English geologists, commenced their labors. 
Agassiz published his Essay on the Glaciers in 1837, the precursor of like 
investigations by Tyndall and others. These are only a small fraction of the 
numerous body of explorers and writers in geological science. In the United 
States, Benjainin Silliman (1779-1864), an eminent scientific teacher, lent a 
strong stimulus to the progress of geology, as well as of chemistry. Even in 
the branch oi paleontology, or the study of the fossil remains of extinct ani- 
mals, it would be impracticable to give the names of those who have added so 
much to our knowledge of the earth and its inhabitants in the ages that pre- 
ceded man. 

Astronomy. — The great French geometers, Lagrange and Laplace, made 
an epoch in astronomical science. Since their time, however, there has been 
a large increase of knowledge in this branch. The discovery of the planet 
Neptune (1846) by Galle, as the result of mathematical calculations oi Lever - 
rier, which were made independently also by Adams, was hailed as a signal 
proof of scientific progress ; and, recently, the discovery of a fifth satellite of 
Jupiter. Besides Neptune hundreds of thousands of stars have been dis- 
covered and registered. Mathematical astronomy has advanced, while the 
study of nebulae and of meteors, and the investigation of the constitution of 
celestial bodies by the help of the spectroscope, are among the more recent 
achievements of this oldest of the sciences. Among the names identified with 
the recent progress of astronomy are Sir John LLerschel and A. LLerschel, 
Maxwell, Stritve, Secchi, Bessel, Bond, Peirce, N'ewton, Newcomb, Young, 
Lockyer, Schiaparelli. 

Progress in Chemistry. — In chemistry the major part of the more rare 
elements have been discovered since the century began. It was proved in 
1819 that the capacities for heat which belong to the atoms of the different 
elements are equal. In the same year Mitscherlicli's law was propounded, — 
the law of isomorp/iist?i, according to which atoms of elements of the same 
class may replace each other in a compound without altering its crystalline 
structure. Chemists have directed their attention to the molecular structure 
— the ultimate constitution — of various compounds. Faraday (1791-1867) 
developed the relations of electricity to chemistry. Liebig (1803-1873), a Ger- 
man chemist, in connection with numerous laborers in the same field, made 



636 



MODERN HISTORY. 



interesting contributions in the different departments of chemical science. 
Among the recent elements which have been discovered are argon, which 
enters into the composition of air, helium, and radium. 

Biology. — No branch of natural science has been more zealously culti- 
vated of late than biology. Among those who have given an impulse to the 
study of natural history, one of the most eminent names is that of Charles 
Darwin. His work on The Origin of Species (1859) advocated the opin- 
ion that the various species of animals, instead of being all separately 
created, spring by natural descent and slow variation from a few primitive 
forms of animal life. He laid much stress upon " natural selection," or the 
survival of the strongest or fittest in the struggle for existence. With the 
name of Darwin should be associated that of Wallace, who simultaneously 
propounded the same doctrine. The general doctrine of evolution, or of the 
origin of species by natural generation, has been held in other forms and 
modifications by Richard Ozuen, and other distinguished naturalists. One of 
the most noted opponents of the evolution doctrine in zoology was Louis 
Agassiz (1807-1873), a very able and enthusiastic student of nature. One of 
its most eminent expounders and defenders was Huxley. Some have sought 
to extend the theory of natural development over the field of inorganic as 
well as living things, and to trace all existences back to nebulous vapor. 

Archeology. — Geology lends its aid to archeology, or the inquiry into 
the primitive condition of man. Not only has much light been thrown on 
obscure periods of history, by the uncovering of the remains of Babylon, 
Assyria, and other abodes of early civilization, and by the deciphering of 
monumental inscriptions in characters long forgotten ; but the discovery of 
buried relics of prehistoric men has afforded glimpses of human life as it was 
prior to all written memorials. One of the most instructive writers on this 
last subject is Tylor in his Primitive Culture, and in other works on the same 
general theme. 

PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 

Philosophy in France. — Victor Cousin (1792-1867). a brilliant thinker and elo- 
quent lecturer and writer, founded in France the eclectic school of philosophy. He aimed to 
construct a positive view on the basis of previous systems, which he classified under four 
heads, — idealism, sensualism, skepticism, a.nd }>iysticis7n. In his teaching, he sought a 
middle path between the German and the Scottish schools, leaning now more decidedly to the 
one, and now to the other. Jouffroy (1796-1842), the most prominent of Cousin's disciples, 
but more e.vact and methodical than his master, wrote instructively, especially on cEsthetics and 
7noral philosophy. Philosophy in France took an altogether different direction in the hands of 
Aicguste Co7nte (1798-1857), the founder of the positivist school. He taught that we know 
only phenomena, or things as manifested to our consciousness, and know nothing either of first 
causes, efficient causes, or of final causes (or design). We are limited to the ascertaining of 
facts by observation and experiment, which we register according to their likeness or unlike- 
ness, and their chronological relation, or the order of their occurrence in time. 

Scottish Philosophy. — The most distinguished expounder of the Scottish philoso- 
phy, and the most learned of that whole school, was Sir William Hamilton (1788-1856). 
He maintained the doctrine of natural realism, — that we have a direct, " face-to face " per- 
ception of external things. He held that the range of the mind's power of conceptive thought 
lies between two i7iconceivables, one of which must be real. Thus we can not conceive of 
free-will (which would be a new beginning) , nor can we conceive of an endless series of causes. 
Free-will — and the same is true of the fundamental truths of religion — is verified to us as real 
by our moral nature. A Scottish writer of ability, who, however, opposed the peculiar tenets 
of the Scottish school, was /^^rrzVr (1808-1864). Among the other philosophical writers of 
Scotland, affiliated, but with different degrees of dissent, with the school of Reid and Hamil- 
ton, are Professors Fraser and Calderivood, and the late James McCosh. 

Philosophy in England. — More allied to the philosophy of Hume and of Comte are 
the metaphysical theories of John Stuart Mill {1S06-1873). Intuitions were regarded by 
Mill as the impression produced by a frequent conjunction of like experiences, and thus to be 
the product of sensation. Causation was resolved into the invariable association of phenom- 
ena, by which an expectation is created that seems instinctive. Another writer of the same 
general tendency, who seeks for the explanation of knowledge in the materials furnished by the 
senses, is Alexander Bain, a Scottish author, versed in physiology. Herbert Spencer con- 
structed a general system of philosophy on the basis of the theory of evolution. He holds that 



PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. ^^J 

our knowledge is limited to pkeitotnena, which are the manifestation in our consciousness of 
things which in themselves are unknown; and that behind and below all is " the Unknow- 
able," — an inscrutable force, out of which the universe of matter and mind is developed, and 
which gives to it unity and coherence. 

Philosophy in Germany. — In Germany the decline of the school of Hegel was 
succeeded by a sort of anarchy in philosophy. Herbart (i 776-1841), a contemporary of 
Hegel, framed a system antagonistic to Hegelia indealism. Among numerous metaphysical 
authors, each of whom has a " standpoint " of his own, are the justly distinguished names of 
Fichte (the younger), Ulrici, Trendeleiib7irg, and Hermann Lotze. Lotze. va'Wys, Micro- 
cosm, has unfolded, in a style attractive to the general reader, profound and genial views of 
man, nature, and religion. A remarkable phenomenon in German speculation is " pessi- 
mism," — the doctrine gravely propounded in the systems of Schopejihatier and E. Von 
Harimann, that the world is radically and essentially evil, and personal existence a curse 
from which the refuge is in the hope of annihilation. In its view of the world as springing 
from an unconscious force, and of the extinction of consciousness as the state of bliss, as well 
as in its notions of evil as inwrought in the essence of things, this philosophy is a revival of 
Indian Oriental speculation. Historical and critical writings in the department of philosophy 
abound in Germany. The histories of philosophy by Ritter, Erdmann, Zeller, Kztiio 
Fischer, and Lange, are works of remarkable merit. 

Philosophy in Italy. — Among the Italian metaphysicians, the two writers who are 
most noteworthy are ./?<;jwi"«z' (1797-1855), who taught idealism; and Gioberti (1801-1882), 
whose system is on a different basis,-— a gifted writer who was equally conspicuous as a states- 
man and a philosopher. 

Philosophy in the United States. — Philosophy in America has been zealously 
cultivated, both in connection with theology and apart from it, by a considerable number of 
teachers and writers. Among them are James Marsh, C. S. Henry, Fraticis Wayland, 
L. P. Hickok, H. B. Smith, and other eminent authors, mostly of a more recent date. 

Political "SlconoraY. — Ricardo (1772-1823), who followed Adam Smith (p. 492), 
dealt more in abstractions and processes of logic, than his predecessor. The writings of 
Ricardo, together with the discussions of Malthus (1766-1834) on population, — in which it 
was maintained that the tendency to an increase of population outstrips the increase of the 
means of subsistence, — led to numerous other writings. 

Political economy was handled in productions hy James Mill (1821), J. R. McCulloch, 
J\r. IV. Senior (1790-1864), R. Torreus (1780-1864), Harriet Martineai(. (1802-1876), 
Thomas Chalmers, the celebrated Scottish divine. Archbishop Richard WJiately, Richard 
Jones, (1790-1855), a critic of the system of Ricardo, and others. An eminent writer, an 
expositor with important modifications of the Ricardian teaching, is John Stjtart Mill {iZob- 
1873). Fawcett SluA other able authors have followed for the most part in Mill's path. An Eng- 
lish author of distinction in this field is J . E. Cairnes (1824-1875). The French school of 
economists have adhered to the principles oi Adam .SwzzV/z much more than have the Germans. 
Among the most noted of the French authors in this field are Say (1767-1832), whose views 
are founded on those oi Smith; Sismondi (1773-1842), who, however, departs from the Eng- 
lish doctrine, and favors the intervention of government to " regulate the progress of wealth "; 
Dunoyer (1786-1862); Bastiat (1801-1850), one of the most brilliant advocates of free-trade; 
Cournot (1801-1877), who applies, with much acumen, mathematics to economical questions. 
In America, since the days of Franklin and Hamilton, both of whom wrote instructively on 
these topics, a number of writers of ability have appeared. Among them are H. C. Carey, 
who opposes the views ol Ricardo and Malthus, and defends the theory of protection ; Francis 
Bowen, also a protectionist ; F. A. Walker, Perry, etc. In Italy, there have not been wanting 
productions of marked acuteness in this department. Of the numerous German writers, one 
of the most eminent is List (1798-1846), a critic of Adam Smith, and not an adherent of the 
unqualified doctrine of free-trade. In the list of later English writers, the names o{ Bagehot, 
Leslie, Jevons, and Sidgwick are quite prominent. With regard to free-trade and protection, 
the latter doctrine has been maintained in two forms. Some have regarded protection as the 
h&%\. permanent policy for a nation to adopt. Others have defended it as a provisional policy, 
to shield manufactures in their infancy, until they grow strong enough to compete, without 
help, with foreign products. After the repeal of the corn-laws in England (1846), the free- 
trade doctrine prevailed in England. Since Comte published his exposition of Sociology 
(1839), the tendency has arisen to consider political economy as one branch of this broader 
theme. With it the controversies pertaining to socialism are intimately connected. 

The disciples of Adam Smith have contended for the non-intervention of governments in 
the industrial pursuits of the people. They are to be left to the natural desire of wealth, and 
the natural exercise of competition in the pursuit of it. The prevalent theories of socialism 
are directly hostile to this — called the laissez-faire — principle. Socialists would make gov- 
ernment the all-regulative agent, the owner of land and of the implements of labor. 

English Essayists. — In literature the later time has seen an extraor- 
dinary multiplying of periodicals and newspapers, among whose editors and 
contributors have been included numerous writers of much celebrity. In 
Great Britain, several famous authors first acquired distinction mainly by 
historical and critical articles in reviews. This is true of Thomas Babington 
Macaiclay and Tho7nas Carlyle. Each of them became a historian. Macau- 



638 MODERN HISTORY. 

lay, an ardent Whig, with an astonishing familiarity with political and literary 
facts, wrote in a spirited and brilliant style a History of England from the 
Accession of James //. to the death of his hero, William III. Carlyle, with 
a unique force of imagination and a rugged intensity of feeling, original in 
his thought, yet strongly affected by German literature, especially by Richter 
and Goethe, wrote in his earlier days a Life of Schiller. He wrote later a 
history of the French Revolution, in which the scenes of that tragic epoch 
are depicted with dramatic vividness ; and a copious History of Frederick 
the Great. Among the most characteristic of his writings are his Heroes 
and Hero-Worship ; the "Latter-Day Pamphlets," in which is poured out his 
contempt of democracy; and the Life of John Sterling, — the counterpart 
of a biography of Sterling, written in a different vein by a learned and schol- 
arly divine, Julius Hare. 

Of essayists in a lighter, discursive vein, one of the most popular, who 
has already been referred to (p. 544), was the Scottish writer, John Wilson 
( 1 785-1854), the author of numerous tales and criticisms, and of diverting 
papers written under the name of "Christopher North." Without the fancy 
and humor of Wilson, yet master of a style keeping within the limits of prose 
while verging on poetry, was L^homas De Quincey, the author of The Confes- 
sions of an Opiutn Eater, Essays on the Roman Emperors, etc. 

Historical Writings in England. — The literature of history has 
been enriched by British authors with important works besides those named 
above. Grote and Thirlwall each composed histories of Greece which are 
the fruit of thorough and enlightened scholarship. The work of Grote is 
a vindication of the Athenian democracy, a view the antipode of that taken 
in the work on Grecian history by Mitford. An elaborate work on the 
History of the Ro/nans under the Empire is one of several historical produc- 
tions of Charles Merivale. Stanhope [Lord Mahojt] composed a narrative 
of the War of the Spanish Succession, and other useful histories. Sir W. F. 
P. Napier wrote a History of the War in the Peninsula, in which the cam- 
paigns of Wellington in Spain are described by an author who took part in 
them. The constitutional history of England has been treated with satisfac- 
tory learning and judgment by Hallam, May, and Stubbs. The Puritan 
revolution has been described with masterly skill and judicial fairness by 
S. R. Gardiner. In the earlier field, Mr. Edward A. Freeman labored with 
distinguished success, the History of the Aorman Conquest being his 
principal work in this branch of historical inquiry. J. R. Green is the author 
of an attractive history of the English people. J. A. Froude wrote with en- 
gaging literary art a History of England in the Reign of Elizabeth, which at- 
tempts, in the preliminary part, an apology for the character and conduct of 
Henry VIII. Spencer Walpole has written a History of Engla7id since 18 ij. 
Ramsay has written the Foundations of Etigland, Angevin Etigland, Lan- 
caster, and York. John Hill Burton, a Scottish author, educated as a lawyer, 
composed vigorously written histories of Scotland and of the reign of Queen 
Anne. Lecky wrote in a pleasing style a History of England in the Eighteenth 
Century, besides a History of Rationalism in Europe, and a History of 
European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne. In ecclesiastical history, 
Milman, whose leading work is the History of Latin Christianity, Dean 
Stanley, and Bishop Creighton have been the principal writers. 

English Novelists. — The series of " Waverley novels" by Walter Scott 
( 1 771-1832) had an unbounded popularity. Pervaded by a cheerful, healthy 
tone, they presented fascinating pictures of life and manners, and kindled a 
fresh sympathy with the Middle Ages and with the spirit of chivalry. The 
poems of Scott depicted, in a metrical form, like picturesque scenes, and 
knightly combats and adventures. The fictions of Scott gave rise to a 
school of writers, one of whom was G. P. R. James (i 801-1860). A new and 



PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 639 

different type of novel appeared, in connection with which the names of 
Dickens (1812-1S70) and Thackeray (1811-1863) are preeminent. Both are 
humorists ; in Dickens especially, humor runs into broad caricature. Both 
present pictures of society and of common life. They illustrate the tendency 
of the novel at present to rely for its attraction upon scenes and incidents of 
ordinary life, and the minute portraiture of manners and of character. Dickens 
owes his popularity largely to the unique sort of drollery and the genuine 
pathos that are mingled in his pages. Thackeray is a satirist, with a keen eye 
to detect the weaknesses of humanity, but with a deep well of sympathy, 
veiled, however, and sedulously guarded from sentimentalism, by a tone of 
banter and a semblance of cynicism. Measured by their popularity with the 
cultivated class, the novels of Mrs. Lewes {^George Eliot) stand next in rank 
to the productions just referred to. In some of her tales, the artistic motive 
and spirit are qualified by the didactic aim, or the underlying "tendency," — 
the purpose to teach, or to promote a favorite cause, — which has become a 
frequent characteristic in modern fiction. Among the other English novelists, 
Bulwer (i 805-1 873), whose later stories are free from the immorality that 
stains the earlier, is one of the most widely read. The novels of Charles 
Kingsley (1819-1875) are among the justly popular productions in this depart- 
ment. Among the novelists of the late Victorian Era were Charles Keade, 
Blackmore, Stevenson, Kipling, Meredith, Hardy, and Mrs. Humphry Ward. 

English Poets. — Alfred Tetmyson (i 809-1 892), the author of The Prin- 
cess, In Memoriam, and the Idylls of the King, held the first place among the 
poets of his day. An adept in the metrical art, he combines in these mature 
productions, with terseness of diction and fresh, striking imagery, deep reflec- 
tion and sympathy with the intellectual questionings and yearnings of the 
time. In his lyrical poems the fullness of his power is seen. He was, with- 
out question, a consummate literary artist. Broivnitig (1812-1889), careless 
of rhythmical art, with a defiance of form, but with dramatic power, in his 
descent to "the under-currents " of the soul, placed himself open to the 
reproach of obscurity. Among English poets of high merit in the recent 
period stand the names of the delightful humorist Thomas Hood (1798- 
1845), Arthur Clough (1819-1861), and more recently, Matthew Arnold 
(1822-1888). 

With this reference to the poets may be coupled the name of the most 
eloquent and suggestive of the English writers on art, yokn Ruskin. 

Theology in England. — Theological scholarship in Great Britain, 
after a long season of partial eclipse, again shone forth in the present 
period. Critical works relating to the Scriptures have been produced, which 
are on a level with the best Continental learning. About 1833, there began 
at Oxford what has been called the " Tractarian movement," from a series of 
" Tracts for the Times," relating to theology and the Church, which were 
issued by its promoters. The party thus originating were called " Puseyites," 
as Dr. Edward Pusey (1800-1882), the author of learned commentaries, and 
of works in other departments of divinity, was their acknowledged leader. 
They formed one branch of the class called " High Churchmen." They laid 
great emphasis on the doctrine of the " apostolic succession" of the ministry, 
the necessity and efficacy of the sacraments administered by them, and the 
importance of visible ecclesiastical unity. They claimed to stand in the 
" middle path " between the Church of England and the Church of Rome. 
One of the leading associates of Pusey was John Keble ( 1 792-1866), the 
poet, author of The Christian Year. The most eminent writer in this group 
of theologians was John Henry Newman (1801-1890), who won general 
admiration by the subtlety of his genius and its rare felicity of expres- 
sion. He entered the Church of Rome, and was advanced to the rank of 
a cardinal. One of the principal literary undertakings of the recent period 



640 MODERN HISTORY. 

is the Revision of the Authorized Version of the Bible, by associated com- 
panies of English and American scholars. In the long catalogue of influ- 
ential writers in theology, it is practicable to refer here to a few suggestive 
names. Thomas Chabners (i 780-1847) was equally noted as a glowing 
preacher, an eloquent defender of the Christian faith, and a lucid expounder 
of the Calvinistic system. Edwa7-d Irving (i 792-1834) was a pulpit orator 
of unsurpassed eloquence in his day, whose peculiar view as to the restora- 
tion of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, that were granted in the apostolic 
age, gave rise to a religious body calling itself the " Catholic Apostolic 
Church." Frede7-ick Denison Maurice (i 805-1872) was one of the leaders of 
the " liberal," or " Broad Church," portion of the English Episcopal Church. 
His writings have exerted a strong influence. In the same general direction, 
but of a more critical and argumentative tone, were Richard Whately (1787— 
1863), Archbishop of Dublin ; and Thomas Arnold, who, in addition to his 
influence as a teacher, classical scholar, and historian, engaged actively in 
discussions on the questions relating to Church and State. 

Literature in America : Poems and Tales. — The period which 
we are now considering witnessed a gratifying development of belles- 
lettres and historical literature in the United States. At the outset, two 
writers appeared who acquired a transatlantic fame. Washington Irving 
(1783- 1 859) in 1818 published The Sketch Book, in a series of pamphlets. 
It had been preceded by Knickerbocke7'^ s History of New York and other 
humorous publications. Among his later writings were included the life of 
Columbus, the Life of Mohammed, and the Life of Washington. The refine- 
ment and charm of his style, which brought back the simplicity of Gold- 
smith, satisfied the foreign critics who had ridiculed the florid rhetoric of 
previous American authors. James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) published 
The Spy, the first of his novels, which attracted much attention, in 1821. 
This was followed, two years later, by The Pioneers, the first of the famous 
" Leatherstocking " series of novels, in which Indian life and manners were 
portrayed. Cooper was also the founder of the " sea-novel," a line of fiction 
in which he was followed by an English writer, Marryat (1792-1848). 
Richard H. Dana and Fitz- Greene Halleck were poets who had a much 
higher than the merely negative merit of freedom from tumidit)^ the bane of 
the earlier American bards. Not only in verse, but also in his prose tales, 
Dana manifested genius. Several later poets, acknowledged at home and 
abroad, well deserve the name. Such are ^ry«??i^ (i 794-1 878), whose poems, 
pensive and elevated in their tone, lack neither vigor nor finish; Longfellow 
(1807-1882), a poet of exquisite culture, whose purity of sentiment, as well as 
polish and melody of diction, have made him a favorite in both Europe and Amer- 
ica; /^/;2V/'z>;'( 1807-1 892) ,whose spirited productions arepervaded with a glow- 
ing love of liberty and humanity. Lowell ( 1 81 9-1 891) has justly earned fame as 
a poet and a critic; and, as a poet, in both serious and humorous compositions. 
The "Biglow Papers" are without a rival in the species of humor that charac- 
terize them. Distinction as a poet and a prose writer belongs likewise to 
Oliver Wendell Holmes (i 809-1 894), who was especially successful as an author 
of "poems of society." Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), faulty in his moral 
spirit as he was wayward in his conduct, exhibited, both in his poems and 
tales, which are unique in their character, the traits of a wild and somber 
genius. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), admired as a poet, but more 
generally as an essayist, valuing insight above logic, has commented on nature, 
man, and literature with so rare a penetration and felicity of expression that 
Matihezv Arnold has placed his productions on a level with the Meditations 
of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In the list of American novelists the 
foremost name is that of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In his romances the subtle 
analysis of the workings of conscience and sensibility, in particular the ob- 



PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 64 1 

scure — including the morbid — action of these powers, is combined with per- 
fection of style and of literary art. The novels of Harriet Beecher Stowe, 
especially those which relate to slavery and depict negro character, have had 
a world-wide currency. Among other novelists were Paulding and Sedgwick, 
and more recently, Howells, James, Bret Harte, Cable, and Aldriek. The 
most distinguished humorist has been S. M. Clemens (Mark Twain). 

Good work has been done by Americans in literary history and criticism. 
The History of Spanish Literature, by George Ticknor, is the fruit of many 
years of labor by a competent scholar. 

Historical Writings in America. — Creditable works have been pro- 
duced in America in the department of historical literature. The lives of 
Washington and Franklin, and other biographical and historical writings of 
much value, have been composed or edited hy fared Sparks. George Bancroft 
(1800-1891) published, in successive editions, the results of extensive re- 
searches in the history of the United States. Works on the same subject 
h'ave been published by Richard Hildreth and many others, fohn G. Palfrey 
is the author of an excellent history of New England. William PI. Prescott 
by his History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, his histories of Spanish 
conquest in America, and his fragment on the reign of Philip II. of Spain, 
has deservedly attained to a high distinction on both sides of the Atlantic. 
The same may be said of John Lothrop Motley (1814-1877), in his Rise and 
Progress of the Dutch Republic. The history of French colonization and of 
the contests of France in America has been detailed with thoroughness and 
skill by Francis Parkman. Other prominent writers have been John Fiske, 
Justin JVinsor, Henry Adams, James F. Rhodes, and A. T. Mahan. 

American Writers on Law and Politics. — American writers on law 
embrace names of world-wide celebrity. Among them are Henry IVheaton, 
in international law, a science to which Woolsey and Lawrejice have made 
valuable contributions ; James Kent, whose Commentaries on American Law 
is a work held in high honor by the legal profession ; and Joseph Story, a 
jurist and legal writer of distinguished merit. The speeches and other pro- 
ductions of Webster, Calhoun, Clay, John Quincy Adams, Edward Everett, 
Seward, Sumner, form a valuable body of political writings. The works of 
Francis Lieber, a German by birth, and the treatise on Political Science by 
Theodore D. Woolsey, are important contributions to the branch of knowledge 
to which they relate. 

Philology in America. — On the catalogue of students of language, the 
name of N'oah Webster (175 8-1 843) is prominent, through his English Dic- 
tionary, the fruit of many years of arduous labor ; a work that since his death 
has appeared in successive and improved editions. Another successful 
laborer in the same field was Joseph E. Worcester (i 784-1865), likewise the 
author of a copious and valuable lexicon of the English language. George 
P. Marsh, an erudite Scandinavian scholar, wrote also on the Origin and 
History of the English language. In the departments of classical learning, of 
Oriental study, and of general philology, there have appeared other American 
authors of acknowledged merit, e.g. William D. Whitney. 

Theology in America. — Theology has been cultivated with much fruit 
by a large number of preachers and authors, of different religious bodies. 
Moses Stuart, by his commentaries on Biblical books, and Edward Robinson, 
especially through his published Travels in the Holy Land, were widely 
known. Charles Hodge, long a professor at Princeton; Nathaniel W. Taylor, 
who broached modifications of the Calvinistic system; Henry B. Smith, an 
acute and learned theologian; and Horace Bushnell, — are among the influen- 
tial authors on the Protestant side. To these should be added the name of 
William Ellery Channing, the most prominent leader of the Unitarians, 
equally distinguished as a preacher and as a philanthropist. 



642 



MODERN HISTORY. 



The Unitarian movement in New England, which began in the early part of the nineteenth 
century, included other theological writers, one of the most learned and scholarly of whom 
was Andrews Norton (1786-1853^. Theodore Parker (1810-1860) subsequently went so far 
in his divergence from received views as to reject miracle and supernatural revelation alto- 
gether. He was one of the most vigorous combatants in the warfare carried on through the 
press and in the pulpit against slavery. Out of the Unitarian school there came a class of 
cultured writers in literature and criticism, of whom George Ripley ( 1802-1880) was a represen- 
tative. The " transcendentalists," as they were popularly styled, with whom these were often 
at the outset affiliated, were much influenced by contemporary French and German authors 
and speculations. Etnersoti was the most prominent writer in this vaguely defined class. A 
periodical called " The Dial" was issued by them. 

One of the most ingenious and active-minded thinkers in the Roman 
Catholic Church was Orestes A. Brownson, a proUfic author on topics of 
religion and philosophy. 

Literature in Germany. — The German mind has been so productive 
in almost all branches of literary effort, that the annual issues of the German 
press have numbered many thousands. The pohtical condition of Germany 
until a recent date was such as to attract large numbers to the pursuits of liter- 
ature and science. It is possible to allude to but few of the principal authors. 
In imaginative literature, Heinrich Heine (1799-1856), of Jewish extraction, 
was a most witty yet irreverent satirist, and one of the principal song-writers 
of modern times. Gustav Freytag has written some of the best of the later 
German novels. Aiierbach, Keller, and Spielhagen stand very high on the 
roll of novelists. Of numerous recent poets, Lenati and Freiligrath are among 
the few best esteemed. In the long catalogue of German historical writers, to 
whom the world owes a debt, are found the names of Schlosser (1776-1861), 
Heeren (1760-1842), Raumer (1781-1873) ; Ranke,^\iO?,& numerousworks are 
based on original researches, and are written with masterly skill ; Gervimis, 
a critic as well as historian; Vo7t Sybel, Droyseji, Duncker, Weber, Giesebrecht, 
Mommsen, Curtius, Treitschke. A powerful impulse was given to the study 
of history by Niebuhr (1776-1831). German researches have been carried 
into every region of the past. In Egyptology, Lipsius, Bunsen, Brugsch, and 
Ebers are leading authorities. Neander, Gieseler, Batir, Dollinger, Hefele, 
Alzog, Harnack, Janssen, and Pastor are writers on ecclesiastical history. Ger- 
man travelers have explored many of the countries of the globe. Schliemann 
has uncovered the ruins of Troy. In mathematics and the natural sciences, in 
philology and criticism, in philosophy, in law and the political sciences, and 
in the different branches of theology, the world acknowledges its debt to the 
patient, methodical investigations and the exhaustive discussions of German 
students during the nineteenth century. 

Theology in Germany. — The history of religious thought in Germany includes the 
successive phases oi rationalism , or that general theory which makes the human understand- 
ing, apart from supernatural revelation, the chief or the exclusive source of religious knowl- 
edge, and the umpire in controversies. In the age oK Frederick 11. , the Anglo-French deism 
was widely diffused (p. 493). Lessing, the genial poet and critic (1729-1781), allied himself 
to no party. In his work on The Edtccation of the Human Race, he set forth the view that 
the Scriptures have a high providential purpose as an instrument for the religious training of 
mankind, but that their essential contents are ultimately verified by reason on grounds of its 
own; so that the prop of authority eventually becomes needless, and falls away. Not radically 
different was the position o'v Kant(-^. 545), who gave rise to a school of theologians that for a 
time flourished. This school made the essential thing in Christianity to be its morality. With 
Semler (1721-1791), the rationalistic Biblical criticism took its rise. From that day, a 
host of scholars have engaged in the investigation of the origin and interpretation of the Bible, 
and of the early history of Christianity. A middle position between the established orthodoxy 
and the Kantian rationalism was taken by Frederick Schleiertnacher (1768-1834), a man of 
genius, alike eminent as a critic, philosopher, and theologian. He placed the foundation of re- 
ligion in the feeling of absolute dependence. In laying stress ou feeling as at the root of piety, 
he had been preceded by the philosopher Jacobi. From the impulse given by Schleiermacher, 
there sprung up an intermediate school of theologians, many of whom departed less than he 
from the traditional Protestant creed. This they professed to undertake to revise in accordance 
with the results of the scientific study of the Bible and of history. In their number belong 
Neander, Nitzsch, Twesten, Tholuck, J. Muller, Dorner, Rothe, Bleek, Ullman, and 
many other influential authors and teachers. In the department of Biblical criticism, Ewald, 



PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE. 643 

Tischendorf, Meyer, Weiss., are among the names of German theological scholars which are 
familiar to Biblical students in all countries. The critical works of De Wette (1780-1849) were 
extensively studied. The philosophy of i'i'^g'i?/ connected itself with a new form of rationalism, 
which found expression in the Life of Jesus, by Strauss, published in 1835, in which the 
Gospel miracles were treated as myths; and in the writings of Ferditiand Christian Baur, 
in connection with his followers of the " Tiibingen School," who attempted to resolve primitive 
Christianity into a natural growth out of preexisting conditions, and held that the historical 
books of the New Testament were the product of different theological " tendencies " and parties 
in the apostolic and the subsequent age. The Roman Catholic system has not lacked in Ger- 
many able defenders, one of the most noted of whom was Mohler, the author of Symbolism 
{Syinbolik), an ingenious polemical work in opposition to Protestantism. 

PMlology and Law in Germany. — Classical philology was founded as a science 
by Heyue (1729-1812) and JFf^ (i 759-1824). Their work was carried forward by G. Her- 
mann (1772-1848), Buttmanu (1764-1829), Jacobs (1764-1847), K. O. 3f iiUer (lygy-iS^o), 
and by numerous contemporaries and successors of these. By this succession of scholars, not 
only have the tongues of Greece and Rome been accurately learned and taught, but classical 
antiquity has been thoroughly explored. Comparative philology, under the hands of Bo^p 
(1791-1867), oi Lassen (1800-1876), a Norwegian by birth, of l-F. vou Humboldt (1767-1835), 
of Pott (born in 1802), of Schleicher (1821-1868), and their coadjutors, has grown to be a 
fruitful science. In the st-idy of the German language and early literature, J . Grimm (1785- 
1863), W. Grimm (1786-1859), Lachmann (1793-1851), 6'/7«r(?ir.4 (1802-1878), have been 
among the pioneers. The study of law, especially of Roman law, was placed on a new foun- 
dation by the labors of Savigny (1779-1861), while a like thoroughness was brought to the 
exposition of German law by Mittermaier and others. In political science, Mohl 1 1779- 
1875), Bluntschli (1808-1881), Stahl (1802-1861), and Gneisi (1816-1895) gained a world- 
wide celebrity. 

Literature in France. — A class of vigorous young writers in France 
broke loose from the restraints of the " classical " school and its patterns, and 
composed dramas in the more free method of the " romantic " school. They 
drew their ideas of the drama from Shakspeare, rather than from Corneille. 
Among these writers were Alexandre Dumas, a most prolific novelist as well 
as writer of plays; and the celebrated poet and dramatist, Victor Hugo. 
The romances of Dtinias comprise more than a hundred volumes. In his 
historical novels, incidents and characters without number crowd upon the 
scene, but without confusion, while the narrative maintains an unfailing 
vivacity. Of the authors of light and witty comedies, Scribe is one of the 
most fertile. George Sand (Mme. Dudevanf) is one of the principal novel- 
writers of the age. Eugene Sjie and Balzac are both popular authors in this 
department. The leading poets are the song-writer Beranger, Lamartine, 
Victor Hugo, and Alfred de I\Iusset. With the close of the first half-century 
romanticism began to give way before realism, from which, however, there was 
a reaction before the century closed. Among the greater poets are Stclly- 
Prudhotnme and Coppee ; among the novelists, Daudet, Zola, Maupassant, 
and Bou7'get. In history some writers, as Viliemain, are remarkable for their 
power of descriptive narrative; others, like Guizot,iox their breadth of philo- 
sophical reflection, superadded to deep researches. Some, like Augustin 
Thierry, in his work on the Middle Ages, combined both elements. His 
brother, Amedee Thierry, depicted the state of society in Gaul and other 
countries in the period of the fall of the Roman Empire. Barante com- 
posed an interesting history of the Dukes of Burgundy. Among those, 
besides Guizot, who treated of the history of France, Sismondi, the spirited 
Michelet, and the thorough and dispassionate Henri Martin are specially 
eminent. Thiers, Mignet, Louis Blanc, Taine, and Lanfrey wrote on the 
Revolution or Napoleon. The most eminent of the newer school of scientific 
historians are Boissier, Sorel, Lavisse, Luchaire, and Aulard. In political 
economy and the science of politics, Chevalier, De Tocqueville (the author of 
Democracy in America), and Bastiatz-xe among the writers widely read beyond 
the limits of France. Sainte-Beuve is only one of the foremost in the class of 
literary critics, in which are included Renan, Sarcey, Brunetiere, Lemaitre, 
Faguet, and others, themselves authors. The clearness of exposition which 
goes far to justify the claim of the French to be the interpreters of European 



644 MODERN HISTORY. 

science to the world, appears in numerous treatises in mathematics and 
physics. The qualities of lucid arrangement, transparency of style, and 
terseness of language have extended, however, to other branches of author- 
ship ; so that the trench have presented a fair claim to precedence in the 
literary art. 

Sweden and. Russia. — There are Swedish authors who are well known in other 
countries. Such are the historian Geijer (1783-1847) ; and the novelist Fredrika Brevier, 
who wrote " The Neighbors," and other tales. The most famous of the Russian novelists is 
Ivan Turgeneff, some of whose stories contain admirable pictures of Russian life. 

Architecture. — The nineteenth century witnessed in Germany, France, 
and England a revival of the ancient or classic styles of architecture. This 
appears, for example, in edifices at Munich, and in such buildings as St. 
George's Hall at Liverpool. But a reaction arose against this tendency, and 
in behalf of the Gothic style, which is exemplified in the new Houses of 
Parliametit in London. Many Gothic churches have been erected in Great 
Britain. Many-storied office buildings are characteristic of America. 

Sculpture and Painting. — One of the most original of modern sculp- 
tors was Sch-cvaiithaler (i 802-1 848), who carved the pediments of the Walhalla 
at Munich, and the bronze statue of Bavaria. French sculptors at the present 
day are fully on a level with the recent sculptors of Italy. Chantrey (1788- 
1841) 2.Vi<iJohii Gibson (1791-1866), a pupil of Canova and himself an origi- 
nal mind, are high on the roll of English sculptors. A genius for sculpture 
appeared among Americans, and to the names of Powers and Craivford, 
of Story, Brown, and Ward, the names of other meritorious artists in this 
province might justly be added. The German national school of painting 
had Overbeck for its most eminent founder. Cornelius (i 783-1867) revived 
the art of fresco-painting, and established the Munich school. Von Kaulback, 
who painted the " Battle of the Huns " in the BerUn Museum, was one of 
his pupils. W. von Schadozu is the founder of the Diisseldorf school. One 
of his eminent pupils was K. F. Lessing. Still more recent are Ad. Menzel, 
Liberman, and Lenbach. In Great Britain, Constable (i 796-1837) painted 
English landscapes full of thought and feeling, and gave a fresh impulse to 
this branch of art. Stanfield (1788- 1864) was a master of the realistic 
school, which aims at a simple and faithful representation of the landscape to 
be depicted. Wilkie, a Scotchman (i 785-1 841), was chief among the genre 
painters, of whom Leslie (1794-1859), by birth an American, was one of the 
most forcible and refined. Eastlake (1793- 1 865) was a writer on art, as well 
as a painter. Landseer (1802-1873) was unrivaled as an animal painter. 
William Hunt {\1<^o-\'^bi\) had decided skill as a painter in water-colors. 
The pre-Raphaelite school, professing to go back of Raphael to nature, included 
Turner, Hunt, Millais, and Burne-Jones. Other prominent artists have been 
Herkomer, Leighton, and Alma-Tadema. In France, Paul Delaroche (1797- 
1856) followed in the path of Horace Vernet (1789-1863), as a painter of 
battle-pieces and other modern historical scenes. Ary Scheffer (1795-1858), 
a Dutchman by birth, painted in a graceful and pathetic tone " Christ the 
Consoler," and other sacred subjects. The more recent French school, com- 
prising Delacroix, Meissonier, G'erotne, Cabanel, Millet, Rosa Bonheur,— 
an artist of masculine vigor, the famous painter of animal pictures, — is dis- 
tinguished for technical skill and finish, but also for a bold and peculiar method 
of treatment. Among the leading landscape-painters of this school, Corot, 
Datibig7iy, Rousseau, Diaz, are conspicuous. Still more recent are Bastien- 
Lepage, Chavannes, Breton, Bouguereau, Dagnan-Bouveret, Lhermitte, Jean- 
Paul Laurens, and Dupre. 

About the year 1825 an American school of landscape-painters was 
founded by Thomas Cole, many of whose pictures were allegorical. Durand 



PHILANTHROPIC REFORM. 645 

is one of those who excelled in landscape painting. In other provinces of 
the art, Peale, Weir, Huntington, Page, Morse, Chase, Whistler, Sargent, 
Abbey ; in landscape, Gifford, Kensett, Church, Bierstadt, McEntee, Inness, 
Winsloiv Homer, well represent what is best and most characteristic in the 
later productions of American painters. 

Music — In music, Germany in the nineteenth century held the palm. 
Schubert, Spohr, Weber, Meyerbeer, and Wagner are names of world-wide 
celebrity, while in the works of Mendelssohn (1809-1849) and Schumann 
(1810-1856) the art of music reached its climax. Chopin (1810-1849), the 
founder of a new style of piano-forte music, was born in Poland : his father, 
however, was French. 

PHILANTHROPIC REFORM. 
In a survey of the course of recent history, notice should be taken of the 
increased activity of a humane spirit in the several nations. 

1. Social Science. — The investigation of social evils and of their proper 
remedies, and of the laws which govern m.an in his social relations, has 
received of late the name of social science. In 1857 a meeting in London, 
over which Lord Brougham presided, resulted in the organization of a society 
of persons interested in different forms of social improvement, bearing the 
name of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science. Its 
work embraced the consideration of these five subjects : law-amendment, — 
to promote which a society had existed, of which Lord Brougham was the 
head ; education ; prevention and repression of crime ; public health ; and 
social economy. Branches were established in various towns in England. 
Similar societies have flourished in the United States. An international 
society of the same character held its first meeting in Brtissels in 1862. The 
wide range of special topics which these societies consider may give an 
appearance of indefiniteness to their aims. The movement at least indicates 
that social advancement has assumed the form of a distinct and comprehen- 
sive problem, and is drawing to itself the deliberate attention of thoughtful 
persons of diverse nations and creeds. 

2. Mitigation of the Sufferings of War : Hospitals. — If wars are 
still frequent and destructive, much more has been done of late to mitigate 
the sufferings consequent upon armed conflicts. The right of an invading 
force to ravage the territory of an enemy was seldom practically asserted in the 
nineteenth century. Non-combatants, according to the modern rules of war, 
are not to be molested. Their property, if it is taken, is to be paid for at its fair 
value. The doctrine that requisitions may be made by a commander is not 
yet abandoned. It was acted on by Napoleon on a large scale. It was not 
approved by Wellington. There is a growing opinion against it. It is not now 
held to be a crime for an officer to hold a fortress as long as he can. In 
the care of the sick and the wounded, there has been a great change for the 
better. The ambulance system, o.r the system of movable hospitals accom- 
panying armies on the field, was established by the French, with the approval 
of Napoleon, in 1795. The name ambulance is also frequently given to the 
vehicles for transporting the wounded and sick. The whole ambulance 
system was completely organized in the American civil war, and defined by 
an Act of Congress in 1864. To a French surgeon is due, also, the estab- 
lishment of a corps of stretcher-bearers. By the European Convention adopted 
at Geneva (1864), the wounded, and the whole ofiicial staff connected with 
ambulances, are exempted from capture as prisoners of war. For the more 
efficient organization of hospitals, a great service was rendered by the example 
of Florence Nightingale, an English lady, who, at the head of a company of 
volunteer nurses, during the Crimean war created a great establishment of 
this sort at Scutari (1854). The increased pains-taking in the method of build- 



646 



MODERN HISTORY. 



ing, in the ventilation and general management of hospitals, during the last 
half-century, has gone far towards freeing them from the dangers and evils to 
which they were formerly subject. 

Sanitary Science. — Sanitary science, and the engineering connected with it, belong to 
the nineteenth century, and mainly to the second half of it. Systems of drainage have been 
devised which involve much mechanical skill, not to dwell on their usefulness in promoting 
health. Prior to 1815, in England, the law forbade the discharge of sewage in water-drains. 
The law of 1847 required that which up to 1815 was prohibited. The great change on this 
whole subject dates from the cholera of 1832, which awoke public attention to the sources of 
disease. The condition of the poor, and the discussions relating to it, lent a new stimulus to 
the inquiry. A series of English reports, from 1842 to 1848, had a great influence in producing 
a sanitary reform, in the particulars referred to, in England and in other countries. 

3. Public Education. — During the nineteenth century, systems of gen- 
eral education were established in different countries. In a part of the 
United States, an effective common-school system has always existed. In 
Germany also, especially in Prussia, there have long been thorough provi- 
sions for the instruction of all the young in elementary branches. In France, 
in consequence of the laws requiring primary schools in all the communes of 
any considerable size, the average of illiteracy has of late steadily diminished. 
In 1 88 1, in France, instruction in the public primary schools was made abso- 
lutely free. England has witnessed a very great change in the legal estab- 
lishment of means of instruction in the rudiments of knowledge for the 
whole people. The Education Act of 1876 required that every child between 
the ages of five and fourteen should receive such teaching. In England, and 
in some other countries, the employment of children who have not had a 
certain amount of school instruction was prohibited by law. In the new king- 
dom of Italy, every commune having four thousand inhabitants was required 
by law (1859) to maintain a primary school. By subsequent legislation, the 
compulsory principle was adopted as far as the circumstances of the country 
would allow. The result has been a most remarkable diminution in the num- 
bers of the wholly illiterate class. Other European states have made primary 
education compulsory. For instance, in Hungary, attendance at school was 
made obligatory for children from the beginning of the eighth to the end 
of the twelfth year. Such measures in behalf of general education as govern- 
ments have adopted in recent times are founded, to be sure, partly on the 
conscious need of self-protection against ignorance and its baleful con- 
sequences to the state. A more directly humane impulse, however, mingles 
with this motive. The operation of benevolent feeling is seen in the multi- 
plying of special schools for the benefit of the blind, of the deaf and dumb, 
and even of imbeciles. 

4. Reform of Criminal Law. — The advance of humane sentiment 
has produced a reform of criminal law. In England, in the closing part of the 
eighteenth century, there were two hundred and twenty-three offenses that were 
punished with death. To injure Westminster Bridge, to cut down young 
trees, to shoot at rabbits, to steal property of the value of five shillings, were 
capital offenses. Vigorous and persevering opposition was made to the 
mitigation of this bloody code. Sir Samuel Romilly (i 757-1818) began his 
effort at reform by endeavoring to secure the repeal of these cruel laws, one 
by one. His bills, when carried with difficulty through the Commons, were 
repeatedly thrown out by the House of Lords. One of the most strenuous 
opponents of the change was the Lord Chancellor, Eldon. Lord Ellen- 
borough, the chief justice, stigmatized the proposed alteration of the statutes 
as the fruit of " speculation and modern philosophy." It was predicted that, 
if it were made, there would be a terrible increase of crime. Sir yaf?tes 
Mackintosh continued with success the effort of Romilly. In 1837 ^^^ ^^^^ °f 
capital offenses had been reduced to seven. One consequence was the 
striking diminution of crime. Another reform in England was that of the 



UNITY OF MANKIND. 647 

police-system (1816). The officers of the police had encouraged crime in 
order to secure the reward of forty pounds offered by the government on 
conviction, in the case of crimes of a certain grade. 

5. Prison-Discipline Reform. — One of the distinctions of modern 
philanthropy is the prison-discipline reform. When Howard began his 
labors (1773), the prisons in England were generally dirty, pestifer'^us dens, 
crowded with inmates of both sexes, — nurseries of loathsome disease, and 
of still more loathsome vice. Soon after this time, a serious effort began to 
make prisons a means of reform, instead of schools of debauchery and 
crime. There was a movement for the erection of penitentiaries of improved 
construction. This was aided by the exertions of Jeremy Bentha7n. The 
most successful efforts in behalf of a better system of management in prisons 
were made by members of the Society of Friends. Of these, the most useful 
person in this cause was Mrs. Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845), a woman of 
rare powers of mind and of the noblest Christian character. By her personal 
influence, she wrought such a transformation of character and behavior 
among the female convicts in Newgate Prison as it had been deemed im- 
possible to effect. The reforms which Mrs. Fry effected spread to other 
places. Her labors were not confined to Great Britain. She visited France 
(1838), Belgium, Holland, and other countries. Her correspondence in the 
interest of the cause which she served extended to Russia and Italy. Her 
recommendations bore fruit for good in almost all parts of Europe. Signal 
improvements in plans of construction, and in the interior life of prisons, 
have been effected under the auspices of the Prison Discipline Society in 
England. In these changes, the example of changes and reforms in this 
matter in the United States has had a marked influence. The two great 
ends_kept in view at present in the arrangements and occupations of prisons 
are the reform of the criminal, and the deterring of others from the commis- 
sion of crime. Distinct establishments for the detention, reform, and training 
of juvenile offenders, who were formerly corrupted by association with crimi- 
nals mature in vice, are peculiar to recent times. The transportation of 
English convicts to Australia began in 1787. As these multiplied, there 
sprang up cruelty on the part of supervisors in the colonies ; and in the 
penal settlements \'\here the worst offenders were guarded, there were found 
the most corrupt and degraded herds of criminals. The opposition in the 
colonial communities to transportation found support in England. In 1840 
deportation to New South Wales ceased. At length Van Dieman's Land 
also refused to receive this forced emigration even of released convicts. 
The British Government was obliged to rely on other methods of punish- 
ment, especially on the graduation of the term of confinement according to 
the conduct of the criminal. 

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE UNITV OF MANKIND. 

Unity amid Diversity. — The path of human progress has led 
in the direction of unity as the ultimate goal. It is, however, a 
unity in variety toward which the course of history has moved. 
The development and growth of distinct nations, each after its 
own type, and, not less, the freedom of the individual to realize 
the destiny intended for him by nature, are necessary to the full 
development of mankind, — necessary to the perfection of the 
race. The final unity that is sought is to be reached, not by stifling 
the capacities of human nature, but by the complete unfolding 
of them in all their diversity. The modern era has made am 



648 MODERN HISTORY. 

approach toward this higher unity that is to coexist with a rich 
and manifold development. An enlightened man, Prince Albert 
of England, remarked in a public address (1850) : " Nobody who 
has paid any attention to the peculiar features of our present era 
will doubt for a moment that we are living at a period of most 
wonderful transition, which tends rapidly to accomplish that great 
end to which, indeed, all history points, the realization of the unity 
of 7Jia7ikind ! Not a unity which breaks down the Hmits and levels 
the peculiar characteristics of the different nations of the earth, 
but rather a unity, the result ajid product of those very national 
varieties and antagonistic qualities." 

In concluding this volume, it is proper to advert to some of the 
signs and means of this unification of mankind, which belong to 
the recent era. 

1. Industrial Exhibitions. — The words quoted above from Prince 
Albert were spoken in anticipation of the Great International Exhibition in 
London, in 1854. The industrial exhibitions, in which the products of many 
nations are collected, and to which visitors are drawn from different parts 
of the earth, are one indication of the effect of manufactures and commerce 
in drawing mankind together. The first displays of this kind were for French 
manufactures alone, and were held in Paris in 1798, and, under the consulate 
of Napoleon, in 1801 and 1802. The first international exposition was in 
Paris in 1844 ; and it was followed by the "World's Fair" in London (1850), 
for which the vast edifice called " the Crystal Palace," made of iron and of 
glass, was constructed. Similar exhibitions were held in New York (1853), 
in Paris in 1855 and again in 1867, in Constantinople, Amsterdam, Vienna, 
(1873), in Philadelphia on the hundredth anniversary of American independ- 
ence (1876), in Chicago in 1893, and in Paris in 1900. In these fairs, the 
products of the industry of the far East were shown by the side of the products 
of European and American manufacture. 

2. Economical Enlightenment. — In connection with the wide exten- 
sion of commerce, the better methods and ideas which have come into 
vogue in respect to commercial relations deserve notice. The system of 
credit, facilitating trade and forming a bond of confidence and of union be- 
tween different nations, although it began in the Middle Ages, was not fairly 
established until the organization of the Bank of Amsterdam in 1609. This 
system, if it is " one of the most powerful engines of warfare," is likewise 
" one of the great pledges of peace." The stimulus given to manufactures 
by mechanical inventions has been an effective promoter of commercial 
intercourse. The teaching of Adam Smith, and of the political economists 
since his time, by which it is seen that the gain of one nation is not the loss 
of another, and that nations are mutually benefited by the interchange of 
the products of their labor, which is the true source of wealth, has operated 
as an antidote to discord. The ruin of a neighbor, or non-intercourse with 
him, has been discovered to be as contrary to the demands of a prudent 
self-interest as of a disinterested benevolence. 

3. Community in Science and Letters. — The community of litera- 
ture and science has been growing more cosmopolitan. The barriers created 
by differences of language are overcome. The custom of learning foreign 
languages has become more diffused. The most important writings, in what- 
ever country they appear, circulate through translations in all other civilized 
lands. All well-stored libraries are polyglot. 



CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 649 

4. Widened Political System. — In the political relations of coun- 
tries, it is found necessary to comprehend all parts of the globe in the political 
system, in the right adjustment of which each country has a stake, and over 
which stretches an acknowledged code of international law. The establish- 
ment of an international tribunal of arbitration at The Hague is a long step 
toward making such a code effective and toward preventing war. 

5. International Philanthropy. — The growth of humane feeling, of 
the interest felt in man as man, engendered a spirit of universal philan- 
thropy. For example, the hostility to the slave-trade led to the treatment 
of it as piracy by the municipal laws and by the treaties of several na- 
tions, while it is prohibited and punished by nearly all of the countries of 
Europe. This is the direct result of a heightened respect for man and for the 
rights of human nature, however poor or degraded man may be. Instances 
have occurred in which help has been generously given to sufferers by fire 
or famine, by strangers in remote lands. A famine in Persia called out lib- 
eral contributions from America. Examples of the exercise of justice and 
kindness toward distant nations may remind the reader of opposite examples 
of wrong and cruelty. We are pointing out, however, only the drift of sen- 
timent ; and it must be remembered that the facts which have been referred 
to as illustrative of the growth of philanthropy, are such as never occurred 
in former ages. 

6. Christian Missions. — The spread of the Christian religion by mis- 
sionary efforts is one of the means of unifying mankind. In ancient times 
and in the Middle Ages, the two great achievements of the Church were the 
conversion of the Roman Empire, and then of the barbarian nations by whom 
it was subverted. But, in the Middle Ages, there was also missionary labor, 
here and there among the Saracens and in the lands of the East. Since the 
thirteenth century, missions in the Roman Catholic Church have been chiefly 
prosecuted by the monastic orders. In this work, the Jesuits, from the first 
establishment of their order, were conspicuously active in all quarters of the 
globe. Of their missionaries, none have been more eminent and zealous 
than Francis Xavier (1506-1552), who died just as he was about to undertake 
the conversion of China. Protestants, in the period after the Reformation, 
were too busy in the struggles going forward in their own lands, to under- 
take foreign missions on an extended scale. Yet they were not indifferent 
to the importance of the work. Under the protectorate of Cro77iivell, an 
ordinance established a Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New 
England (1649). In 1701 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts was established in England. Later, the Moravians from the 
beginning evinced great interest in foreign missions, and planted missionary 
stations in several countries. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Congre- 
gation of the Propaganda was founded in 1622, for the general superintend- 
ence of missionary operations. Colleges for their training were established, 
the chief of which was the " Urban College " at Rome, where students from 
all nations have been educated for missionary service. 

The nineteenth century was marked by an extraordinary outburst of mis- 
sionary activity. In this sort of exertion the Roman Catholic body has kept 
up an unflagging zeal. Within the various Protestant denominations, a re- 
markable increase of fervor and of success in this department of Christian 
labor has been witnessed. In the room of seven societies for this pur- 
pose at the end of the eighteenth century, there were in 1880, in Europe 
and America, seventy organizations. At this last date, there were not less 
than twenty-four hundred ordained Europeans and Americans employed in 
this service, besides a great number of assistants, both foreign and native. 
The native converts numbered not less than 1,650,000. The yearly contribu- 
tions for the support of the missions increased proportionately. In 1882 



650 



MODERN HISTORY. 



British contributions alone amounted to ;^i, 090,000. It is not an exaggera- 
tion to say that the globe is now "covered with a network of Christian 
outposts." 

The following passage, slightly abbreviated, from a German writer, presents a glowing 
sketch of the wide extension of recent missionary labors: — 

" At the beginning of this century, the island world of the Pacific was shut against the 
gospel; but England and America have attacked those lands so vigorously in all directions, 
especially through native workers, that whole groups of islands, even the whole Malayan 
Polynesia, is to-day almost entirely Christianized, and in Melanesia and Micronesia the mission- 
field is extended every year. The gates of British East India have been thrown open wider 
and wider during this century; at first for English, theti for all missionaries. This great king- 
dom, from Cape Comorin to the Punjaub and up to the Himalayas, where the gospel is knocking 
on the door of Thibet, has been covered with hundreds of mission-stations, closer than the 
mission-net which at the close of the first century surrounded the Roman empire ; the largest 
and some of the smaller islands of the Indian Archipelago, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes, and 
now New Guinea also, are occupied, partly on the coast and partly in the interior. Burmah, 
and in part Siam, is open to the gospel; and China, the most powerful and most populous 
of heathen lands, forced continually to open her doors wider, has been traversed by individual 
pioneers of the gospel, to Thibet and Burmah, and half of her provinces occupied from Hong- 
Kong and Canton to Peking; and in Manchuria, if by only a thin chain, yet at many of the 
principal points, stations have been founded, while the population overflowing into Australia 
and America is being labored with by Protestant missionaries. Japan also, hungry for reform, 
by granting entrance to the gospel has been quickly occupied by American and English mis- 
sionary societies, and already, after so little labor, has scores of evangelical congregations. 
Indeed, the aboriginal Australians have, in some places, been reached. In the lands ol Islam, 
from the Balkans to Bagdad, from Egypt to Persia, there have been common central evangeli- 
zation stations established in the chief places, for Christians and Mohammedans, by means of 
theological and Christian medical missions, conducted especially by Americans. Also in the 
primitive seat of Christianity, Palestine, from Bethlehem to Tripoli, and to the northern bound- 
aries of Lebanon, the land is covered by a network of Protestant schools, with here and there 
an evangelical church. Africa, west, south, and east, has been vigorously attacked; in the 
west, from Senegal to Gaboon, yes, lately even to the Congo, by Great Britain, Basel, Bremen, 
and America, which have stations all along the coast. South Africa at the extremity was 
evangelized by German, Dutch, English, Scotch, French, and Scandinavian societies. Upon 
both sides, as in the center, Protestant missions, although at times checked by war, are con- 
tinually pressing to the north; to the left, beyond the Walfisch Bay; to the right, into Zululand, 
up to Delagoa Bay; in the center, to the Bechuana and Basuto lands. In the east, the sun 
of the gospel, after a long storm, has burst forth over Madagascar in such brightness that it 
can never again disappear. Along the coasts from Zanzibar and the Nile, even to Abyssinia, 
out-stations have been established, and powerful assaults made by the Scotch, English, and 
recently also by the American mission and civilization, into the very heart of the Dark Conti- 
nent, even to the great central and east African lakes. In America, the immense plains of the 
Hudson's Bay Territory, from Canada over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, have 
not only been visited by missionaries, but have been opened far and wide to the gospel through 
rapidly growing Indian missions. In the United States, hundreds of thousands of freedmen 
have been gathered into evangelical congregations; and, of the remnants of the numerous 
Indian tribes, some at least have been converted through the work of evangelization by various 
churches, and have awakened new hope for the future. In Central America and the West 
Indies, as far as the country is under Protestant home nations, the net of evangelical missions 
has been thrown from island to island, even to the mainland in Honduras, upon the Mosquito 
Coast; and in British and Dutch Guiana it has taken even firmer hold. Finally, the lands on 
and before the southern extremity of the continent, the Falkland Islands, Terra del Fuego, 
and Patagonia, received the first light through the South American Missionary Society^ (in 
London) ; and recently its messengers have pushed into the heart of the land, and are rapidly 
pressing on to the banks of the great Amazon, to the Indians of Brazil." 

Results of Missions. — In carrying forward missionary work 
during the nineteenth century, the Bible has been translated into 
numerous languages. Missionaries, as in the early days of the 
Church, have reduced the languages of uncultivated peoples to 
writing, and made the beginning of native literatures. Schools, col- 
leges, and printing-presses follow in the path of the preachers. The 
contributions made to philology and to other branches of science 
by missionary preachers and explorers are of high value. As far 
as the number of converts is concerned, progress has been more 
rapid, as was the case in the first Christian centuries, among un- 



RESULTS OF MISSIONS. 65 1 

civilized tribes. The reception of Christianity is more slow in a 
country like China, and among the Aryan inhabitants of India. 
But the influence exerted by missions in such communities is not 
to be measured by the number of converts. Moreover, history 
has often shown, that, in the spread of the Christian religion, the 
first steps are the most slow and difficult : they are hke the early 
operations in a siege. Sir Bartle Frere writes thus : " Statistical 
facts can in no way convey any adequate idea of the work done 
in any part of India. The effect is enormous where there has not 
been a single avowed conversion. The teaching of Christianity 
amongst a hundred and sixty millions of civilized, industrious 
Hindoos and Mohammedans in India, is effecting changes, moral, 
social, and political, which for extent and rapidity in effect are far 
more extraordinary than any that have been witnessed in modern 
Europe." Of the same tenor is an opinion expressed in strong 
terms by Sir Henry Lawrence, governor-general of India during 
the mutiny of 1857, and a most competent judge. 

It is worthy of remark, as one characteristic of the Christian 
missions of the recent period, that the religions of the non-Chris- 
tian nations have been studied more thoroughly, and the true and 
praiseworthy elements in them have been better appreciated. 

The progress made in the past encourages the hope that the 
unity of mankind, a unity which shall be the crown of individual 
and national development, will one day be reached. That unity 
of mankind, in loyal fellowship with Him in whose image man 
was made, is the community of which the ancient Stoic vaguely 
dreamed, and which the apostles of Christ proclaimed and pre- 
dicted, — the perfected kingdom of God. 

Literature. See lists on pp. i6, 359, 395, 496. Alison, Hist, of Europe, from 1815 to 
1852 (8 vols.); BuUe, Gesch. d. iieuesten Zeit, 1815-1871 (2 vols.); Flathe. Zeitalter der 
Restauration and der Revoluti07i; Stern, Geschichte Eitropas (3 vols.); Debidour, Hist. 
Diplomatique de V Europe (2 vols.); Sexgnohus, Political History 0/ Etirope si7ice 1814 ; 
Sears. Political Growth in the Nineteenth Century; Lavisse et Rambaud. Hist Gen.. Vols. 
X., XL, XIL; WiA^v^s, European History, 1815-1899; WyiW&x, Political History of Recent 
Times (Peters's translation, 1882) ; Miiller, Politische Gesch. d. Gegenivart (an annual, 
since 1867) ; Honegger, Grundsteine einer allgem. Ctilturgeschichte d. neuesten Zeit 
(5 vols.). 

Works on the History of Italy. Thayer, Daivn of ^ Italian Independence (2 vols.) ; 
Reuchlin, Geschichte Italiens (4 vols.); Stillman, Union of Italy; Probyn, Italy from 
1815-1878; Lives of Cavour, by De la Rive (English translation), by E. Dicey, by Mazade 
(French) ; Life and Writings of Mazzini (9 vols.). 

Works on the History of Germany. Treitschke, Deutsche Geschichte; Von Sybel, 
Foundiiig of the German Empire (6vols. ); '^wsolti, Bismarck in the Eranco-Prussian 
War (2 vols.), Bismarck, The Man and the Statesman (2 vols.); Springer, Geschichte 
Oesterreichs (2 vols.). 

France. Hillebrand, Gesch. Frankreichs (1830-1870); Adams, Democracy and Mon- 
archy in France; Stein, Gesch. der Sozialen Beivegung i7i Frankreich; Guizot, Memoirs 
of His Own Time (1807-1848) (4 vols.); Delord, Hist, du Second Empire (6 vols.); 
Zevort, Hist, de la ync Republigne (4 vols.); Hanotaux, Co7ttemporary France (Vol. I.) ; 
Bodley, Fra7ice (2 vols.); Simon, The Governme7it of M. Thiers (from 1871-1873) (2 vols.). 

Works on the History of England. Harriet Martineau, The History of Engla7id (1800- 
1854); Walpole, A History of England, from 1815 (6 vols., 1878-1880); Molesworth, The 
History of E7igland (1830-1874V, Justin McCarthy, A History of Oiir Ow7t Times (1878- 
1880); Kinglake, The Hivasion of the Crimea (6 vols.); Seeley, The Expansio7i of Eng- 



652 



MODERN HISTORY. 



land; Rutherford, The Fenian Conspiracy; Richey, The Irish Land Laws; King, The 
Irish Question ; Morley, Life of Gladstone, 3 vols. (1903) (an able historical review). 

Works on History of the United States. Benton, 7 hirty Years' View [1820-1850] ; Johns- 
ton, ///i/oj-j/ 1^ yiwz^rjVrtw /'o////cj/ De TocQUEViLLE, iP^woirracj/ z« Anierica (2 vols.); 
Thorpe, Co^istitictioiial History of the American People (2 vols.); Roosevelt, Winning of 
the West (^ vols.); Stanwood, A History of the Presidency ; Bryce, The Atnerican Com- 
monwealih (2 vols.); Ostrogorski, Democracy and the Origijt of Political Parties (,2 vols.); 
\ie.-axy kA^m.?,, History of tlie United States (1800-1817, 9 vols.): Rhodes, History of the 
United States from the Compromise of 1850 (4 vols ); Wilson, Division and Reunion ; 
Burgess, The Middle Period, The Civil War and the Constitution (2 vols.); Dunning, 
Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction ; BoUes, Financial History of the United 
States ($ vols.); Wilson, History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power; Blaine, Twenty 
Years in Congress; Histories of the Civil War, by the Count of Paris (2 vols.), by Roper, 
by J. W. Draper, by H. Greeley, by A. H. Stephens, by E. A. Pollard l^The Lost Cause); 
Swinton's Twelve Decisive Battles of the \CiviT\ War ; Me?noirs of Gen. W. T. Sher- 
man, by himself; Grant, Personal Memoirs (2 vols.) ; John Sherman, Recollections (2 vols.); 
Moore, The Rebellion Record (1861-1871) ; Biography of Gallatin, by H. Adams; of Jack- 
son, by Parton, by W. G. Sumner; of Madiso7i, by Rives; of jf . Q. Adams, by Morse; of 
Josiah Quincy, by Edmund Quincy; of Webster, by G. T. Curtis, by Lodge; of Clay, by 
Schurz; of Calhoun, by Cralld ; of Sumner, by E. L. Pierce; of Lincoln, by Nicolay and 
Hay, by Morse; of Seivard, by Kr. Brancroft; of W. L. Garrison, by O. Johnson, by W. 
P. Garrison; The American Commonwealths, a series of histories of the separate States 
(edited by H. E. Scudder); writings of J. Q. Adams, M'^ebster, Clay, Calhoun, E. Everett, C. 
Sumner, W. H. Seward; John Fiske, Ajyierican Political Ideas. 

Literary Biographies. Life of Walter Scott, by Lockhart; of Jeffrey, by Cockburn ; of 
Macaulay, by Trevelyan; of Arnold, by Stanley; of Dickens, by Forster; of Carlyle, by 
Froude; of George Eliot [Mrs. Lewes], by Cross. Life of Irving, by P. M. Irving; of 
Bryant, by Parke Godwin; Life and Letters of George Ticknor; Life of Ripley, by Froth- 
ingham; Series of " American Men of Letters," including Washington Irving, by Warner; 
Cooper, by T. R. Lounsbury; Emerson, by O. W. Holmes, etc. 

Argyll, The Eastern Question, 183b to jSj8 and the Second Afghan War; Taylor, 
Rjissia before and after the War [of 1877] (1880); Daily News Correspondence of the 
War between Russia atid Turkey [1877-78] (2 vols.); Baker Pasha, War in Biilgaria 
(2 vols.); Wallace, Egypt and the Egyptian Qttestion; Malleson, History of Afganistan ; 
Labilliere, Early History of the Colony of Victoria (2 vols. 1 ; Grant and Knollys, The China 
War of l8bo ; Scott, France and To}igking [in 1884]; Vambdry, Cetitral Asia; Stanley, 
Congo and the Founding of its Free State (2 vols). 

Rae, Contemporary Socialism; Woolsey, Com^nunism and Socialisjn; Laveleye, Le 
Socialisme Contemporain (loth ed.) ; Schaeffle, Quintessetiz des Socialismus ; A. Menger, 
Das Recht auf den vollen Arbeitsertrag {2d, edi.). 



N.B. 



INDEX. 



•References down to page 197 are to Part I. ; from page 197 to page 360 to Part II.; 
after page 360 to Part III. 



Abbreviations. — k,= king ; q. = queen ; amp. = emperor ; bp. = 
archbishop; H. R. E. = Holy Roman Empire, 



■ bishop ; abp. 



Aachen, see Aix-Ia-Chapelle. 

Aahmes, k. of Egypt, I., 40; II., 42. 

Aaron, 56. 

Abassides, 229. 

Abbas Pasha, 597. 

Abbey, 645. 

Abderrahman I., 229, 231, 235; III., 

Abdurrahman Khan, 594. 

Abelard, 306. 

Abercrombie, Gen., 482. 

Abraham, 55. 

Absalom, 60. 

Absyrtus, 82. 

Abiibekr, 227. 

Abul Abbas, 229. 

Abu Tahb, 224. 

Acadians, expelled from their homes, 

Achaean League, 119. 

Achaia, a Roman province, 151. 

Achaians, 149. 

Acre, battle at, 284 ; siege of, 518. 

Acropolis of Athens, 98. 

Act of Uniformity, 458. 

Adalbert, abp. of Bremen, 264. 

Adams, Charles Francis, 607. 

Adams, H., 641. 

Adams, John, 488, 490, 536, 538, 544 

Adams, J. C, 635. 

Adams, John Quincy, 602, 641. 

Adams, Samuel, 486. 

Addington, 521. 

Addison, 492. 

Adelheid, wife of Otto I., 262, 263. 

Adolphus of Nassau, 312, 332. 

Adrian VI., pope, 400. 

Adrianople, pattle of, 204. 

^gatian Islands, battle at, 144. 

JEgean League, 112. 

^lia Capitolina, 182. 

^neas, 126. 

Cohans, 78. 



^quian war, 134. 

^schines, 112. 

yEschylus, 98, 100. 

^thelred II. (the Unready), k. of Eng- 
land, 248. 

Aetius, general under Placidia, 208-210. 
282. ^tolian League, 119. 

^tolians, 149. 

Afghanistan, 559; and Russia, 594; war 
with the British, 594. 

Africa, a Roman province, 151; conquest 
of by the Vandals, 208 ; governed by 
the Arian Vandals, 213 ; its conquest 
by Justinian, 219; conquered by the 
Moslems, 231 ; partition of, 625. 

Agassiz, Louis, 635, 636. 
482. Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, 55. 

Agesilaus, k. of Sparta, 109. 

Agincourt, battle of, 326. 

Agis, k. of Sparta, III., 118; IV., 119. 

Aglaites, 231. 

Agnes, mother of Henry IV., 264. 

Agrarian laws, 153. 

Agricola, governor of Britain, 180. 

Agrigentum, capture of, 143. 

Agrippina (wife of Claudius), 177. 

Ahab, k. of Israel, 61. 

Ahaz, k. of Judah, 46, 62. 

Ahmed Khan, ruler of the Afghans, 594. 

Ahriman, Persian god, 64. 

Aistulf, 221, 235. 

Aix-la-Chapelle, Charlemagne's capital, 
238 ; treaty of, 453 ; peace of, 476. 

Akbar, 450. 

Alaric, k. of West Goths, in Italy, 205 ; 
again in Italy, 206 ; his death, 207. 

Alans, 204, 206, 207. 

Alberoni, 467. 

Albert I., of Austria, emp. H. R. E., 332, 
335. 

Albert the Bear, 295. 

653 



654 



INDEX. 



Albert, k. of Sweden, 346. 

Albert of Saxe-Coburg, 560. 

Albigensian war, 297. 

Alboin, 221. 

Albornoz, Cardinal, 339. 

Alcasus, 90. 

Alcibiades, his influence, 104-106. 

Alcmaeonid^, 89. 

Alcuin, 238, 239. 

Aldrich, T. B., 641. 

Alemanni, one of the Germanic confed- 
eracies, 201, 212. 

Alessandria built, 277. 

Alexander, czar of Russia, I., 524, 526, 
549; II., 587; III., 587. 

Alexander of Parma, 417. 

Alexander, pope, II., 250; III., 277, 294; 
VI., 318, 379, 383. 

Alexander the Great, k. of Macedonia, 
31, 54, loi, 113; in Greece, 113; his 
army, 113; campaigns, to the battle 
of Issus, 114; to the battle of Arbela, 
114; to the invasion of India, 115 ; his 
death, 115, 116; his influence, 116; 
his successors, 116. 

Alexander the Younger, 116; put to 
death, 117. 

Alexandria, founded, 115 ; captured by 
Persians, 222 ; captured by Arabians, 
227, 228 ; bombarded by the English, 
596. 

Alexis, czar of Russia, 470. 

Alexius I., Commenus, Greek emp., 270, 

273- 

Alfien, 543. 

Alfonso v., k. of Aragon, 338, 374. 

Alfonso VI., of Castile and Leon, 282, 
343 ; X., the Wise, of Castile, 331, 342 ; 
XL, 342. 

Alfonso XII., XIII. , ks. of Spain, 585. 

Alfonso I., k. of Portugal, 343; IV., 344. 

Alfred (the Great), k. of England, 247. 

Algiers, at war with the U. S., 540 ; cap- 
tured by the French, 555. 

Alhambra, castle of, 370. 

Ali, 227, 228. 

Allah-ud-din, 358. 

Allen, Ethan, 487. 

Allia, battle of, 136. 

Allston, W., 546. 

Almagro, 390. 

Al Mamun, 230. 

Almansor, 229. 

Almanzor, 282. 

Alma-Tadema, 644. 

Almohades invade Spain, 341. 

Almoravides invade Spain, 341. 

Alp Arslan, sultan, 270. 

Altranstadt, peace of, 472. 

Alva, duke of, 416. 

Alvaro de Luna, 342. 

Alvinzi, 577. 

Alzog, 642. 



Amadeus I., k. of Spain, 585. 

Amadeus II., k. of Sardinia, 467. 

Amalaric, Arian k., 214. 

Amasis, see Aahmes II. 

Amazon, the, 391. 

Amboise, conspiracy of, 419. 

Ambrose, abp. of Milan, 194. 

Amenemhat I., III., ks. of Egypt, 39. 

America, discovery of, 388 ; colonization 
in, 441-445; the Indians in, 445; the 
white and red men, 446 ; contest of 
England and France in, 479 seq. ; colo- 
nies in, 479 seq. 

(See United States, South America, 
etc.) 

Amerigo Vespucci, 389. 

Ames, Fisher, 537. 

Amherst, Lord, 482. 

Amiens, peace of, 521. 

Amos, 62. 

Amphictyonic Council, 112. 

Amrov, 227. 

Anacreon, 90. 

Anastasius, Greek emp., 213, 218, 219. 

Anaxagoras, 91. 

Anaximander, 91. 

Anaximenes, 91. 

Anchorites, 192. 

Ancyra, battle of, 352. 

Andalusia, 207. 

Anderson, Major, 606. 

Andre, Major, 489. 

Andrew II., k. of Hungary, 350. 

Andros, Sir Edmund, 483. 

Angles, settle in Britain, 215 ; see Anglo- 
Saxons. 

Anglo-Saxons ; see Angles, Saxons. 

Anne, q. of England, 464, 465. 

Anne of Austria, 452. 

Anne of Beaujeu, 368. 

Anne Boleyn, 406, 407. 

Anne of Brittany, 368, 384. 

Anselm, 290, 306. 

Ansgar, 239. 

Antalcidas, peace of, 109. 

Anthony of Thebes, 192. 

Antietam, battle of, 608. 

Antigone, 81. 

Antigonidae, 117. 

Antigonus, 117. 

Antioch, 120; capture of, 219; falls into 
the hands of the Saracens, 227. 

Antiochus, k. of Syria, I., 120; II., 120; 
III., the Great, 118, 120, 148, 149; IV., 
120, 149. 

Antipater, 116-118, 121. 

Antisthenes, 107. 

Antoninus Pius, Roman emp., 182. 

Antonius, Marcus, i56 ; defeated by D. 
Brutus, 167 ; second triumvirate, 167 ; 
defeats J. Brutus and Cassius, 167; 
governor of the East, 167; follows 
Cleopatra, 167 ; his death, 167. 



INDEX. 



655 



Apelles, 102. 

Aphrodite, 80, 133. 

Apollo, 81 ; worship of, 83, 132. 

Apollodorus, 102. 

Apostles, the, 171. 

Appius Claudius, decemvir, 135; con- 
sul, 141, 144. 

Apries II., k. of Egypt, 42, 49. 

Aquas Sextiae, battle of, 155. 

Aquinas, Thomas, 306. 

Aquitani, one of the three nations of 
Gaul, 163 ; Aquitaine, received by the 
Suevi, 207 ; 292 ; 322. 

Arabia, condition of in the sixth century, 
223, 224; Arabic conquests, Syria, Per- 
sia, Egypt, 227 ; the Ommiads, conquest 
of Africa and Spain, 228; Abassides, 
229 ; Mohammedan states, 227-231 ; 
the Arabian mind, 232. 

Arabi Pasha, 595, 596. 

Aragon, 341; constitution of, 342; the 
Aragonese, 343. (See Spain.) 

Arago, 565. 

Aratus, 119. 

Arbela, battle of, 114. 

Arbitration, International, 649, 

Arcadius, Greek emp., 205. 

Archelaus, 157. 

Archias, 118. 

Archilochus, 90. 

Archimedes, 148. 

Archytas, 108. 

Areopagus, 88, 97. 

Argentine Republic, 551. 

Argonauts, 81. 

Argos, allied with Athens, 109. 

Arians, persecution of, 212. 

Ariosto, 393. 

Ariovistus, 163. 

Aristagoras, 93. 

Aristides, 94, 96. 

Aristippus, 107. 

Aristobulus, k. of the Jews, 160. 

Aristodemus, Messenian hero, 87. 

Aristogiton, 89. 

Aristomenes, 87. 

Aristophanes, 98, loi. 

Aristotle, 107, 113. 

Arius, 192. 

Arkwright, Richard, 493. 

Armagnacs, 325. 

Armenia, Roman province, 182. 

Armenia, Turkish (1885-1900), 624. 

Arminius, 172. 

Arnauld, 455. 

Arndt, 545. 

Arnold, Benedict, 487. 

Arnold, Matthew, 639, 640. 

Arnold, Dr. T., on the value of physical 
geography, 8 ; 640. 

Arnold of Winkelried, 335. 

Arnulf, k. of Germany, 242, 245. 

Arpads, in Hungary, 350. 



Arras, peace of, 367. 

Arrhidjeus, 116. * 

Artaphernes, 93, 94. 

Artaxerxes, k. of Persia, I., 95 ; XL, 109; 
III., 106. 

Arthur, Celtic k. of Britain, 307. 

Arthur, Chester A., pres. of the U. S., 611. 

Arthur, duke of Brittany, 295. 

Articles of Confederation, 487. 

Aryans, see India, 10 ; on the Ganges, 27. 

Ascalon, battle of, 274. 

Ascanius, 126. 

Ascelin, 289. 

Aschera, Phoenician deity, 53, 62. 

Asia, physical geography of, 18 ; character 
of its people, 19 ; religion in, 19 ; priest- 
hoods in, 19; literature and art in, 19. 

Askabat, 595. 

Asoka, k. of Behar, 30. 

Aspasia, 98. 

Aspern, battle of, 528. 

Asshur-bani-pal V., 47. 

Asshur-nasir-bal, 46. 

Assyria, 42, 48 ; empire of, 45 ; growth of 
its power, 45 ; religion and art, 47 ; fall 
of, 47 ; a Roman province, 182. (See 
Babylon, Nineveh.) 

Astarte, Phoenician goddess, 53. 

Astyages, k. of Media, 66. 

Atahualpa, 390. 

Athanagild, 220. 

Athanasius, 192, 194. 

Athaulf, 207. 

Athelstan, k. of England, 247. 

Athens, government in, 87 ; parties, 89 ; 
democracy, 89 ; effect of democracy, 90 ; 
ascendency of, 96 ; in the age of Peri- 
cles, 97, 98 ; religion, 99 ; tragic drama, 
100 ; comedy, loi ; its fall, 105 ; Athe- 
nian life, 108 ; captured by Sulla, 157. 
(See Greece.) 

Atossa, wife of Darius, 67. 

Attains, k. of Pergamon, I., 149; III,, 152. 

Attains, appointed emp. of Rome by 
Alaric, 207. 

Atticus, 169. 

Attila, in Gaul and Italy, 209, 210. 

Auerbach, 642. 

Auerstadt, battle of, 526. 

Augsburg, interim of, 409 ; peace of, 410 ; 
league of, 463. 

Augustine, labors in Britain, 215. 

Augustine, bp. of Hippo, 192, 208. 

Augustus, Csesar Octavianus, emp. of 
Rome, 168 ; the empire under, 168 ; lit- 
erature under, 169 ; his death, 172. 

Aulard, 643. 

Aulic council, 372. 

Aurelian, Roman emp., 187, 201. 

Aurelius, Marcus, Roman emp., 182; 
war with Parthia, 183; his death, 183. 

Aurungzeb, 450. 

Austen, Jane, 544. 



656 



INDEX. 



Austerlitz, battle of, 525. 

Australia, 598, 599, 628. 

Austrasia, 214. 

Austria, a Alark, 237 ; made a duchy, 
275; house of Hapsburg, 331; acquires 
the Hungarian crown, 372; counter- 
reformation, 422; in the thirty years' 
war, 422 seg. ; result of the war, 429 ; 
war of the Spanish succession, 423; 
receives the Netherlands, etc., 466; war 
of the Austrian succession, 475 ; in the 
seven years' war, 477 ; reforms of Joseph 
II., 495; alliance with Prussia against 
France, 506; the first coalition, 508; 
peace of Campo Formio, 517 ; victories 
in Italy, 519; peace of Luneville, 520; 
third coalition, 524 ; peace of Pressburg, 
525; Francis I. becomes emp. of Aus- 
tria, 525 ; renewed war with France, 
528 ; peace of Vienna, 528 ; war of lib- 
eration, 531; congress of Vienna, 532; 
in the Holy Alliance, 549 ; influence in 
Germany, 549; influence in Italy, 553; 
revolts in Italy suppressed, 558 ; revo- 
lutionary movements in (1848), 566; 
conflict with Hungary, 567 ; war with 
Sardinia, 569; war with France and 
Sardinia, 572 ; loss of Lombardy, 573 ; 
Austro-Prussian war, 575 seq. ; Austro- 
Hungarian empire, 579 ; occupies Bos- 
nia and Herzegovina, 587 ; alliance with 
Prussia, 587 ; since 1897, 623. 

Avars, 221, 223. 

Averrhoes, 232. 

Avicenna, 232. 

Avitus, Roman emp., 211. 

Ayub Khan, 594. 

Azeglio, 572. 

Baal, Phoenician deity, 53. 

Babar, 450. 

Babeuf, 588. 

Babylon, its relation to Assyria, 43 ; ge- 
ography of, 43 ; early inhabitants, 43 ; 
sources of knowledge of their history, 
43 ; old kingdom of Babylon, 44 ; early 
annals of, 44 ; religion and science, 44 ; 
as one of the three principal powers, 49 ; 
city of, 49 ; captivity of Jews, 62 ; He- 
brew prophets on, 66; annexed to 
Persia, 66. 

Babylonian Captivity, 314, 354. 

Bach, 395. 

Bacon, Francis, 435, 447. 

Bacon, Roger, 306. 

Bactria, 120. 

Bagdad, seat of the caliphate, 229. 

Bagehot, 637. 

Bahram, 358. 

Bailly, 500, 503. 

Bajazet, 351, 352; II., 379. 

Baker (Pasha), 632. 

Balaklava, battle at, 572. 



Balboa, 389. 

Balearic Isles, capture of, 219. 

Baldwin, 272, 273; k. of Jerusalem, 274. 

Baldwin of Flanders, 279. 

Ball, John, 324. 

Balmaceda, pres. Chili, 5i6. 

Baltimore, Lord, 445. 

Balue, Cardinal, 366. 

Balzac, 643. 

Bain, Alexander, 636. 

Baur, Ferdinand Christian, 642, 643. 

Bancroft, George, 641. 

Banks, Gen. N. P., 608. 

Bannockburn, battle of, 316. 

Barante, 643. 

Barbarians, three races of, 200; three 
kingdoms of, 207. 

Barclay, Robert, 494. 

Barclay (Russian general), 530. 

Barcochebas, 182. 

Barlow, Joel, 544. 

Barmecides, 230. 

Barth, 632. 

Basel, council of, 334, 355 ; Reformation 
in, 403. 

Basentius, river of, 207. 

Basil II., Greek emp., 270. 

Basil the Great (St. Basil), 223. 

Basil v., czar of Russia, 382. 

Basiliscus, 211. 

Basques, 145, 236. 

Bastiat, 637, 643. 

Bastien-Lepage, 644. 

Bastille, destruction of, 501. 

Batavian Republic, 516. 

Batis, 113. 

Bautzen, battle of, 531. 

Bavaria, 239 ; H enry 1 1 1 . , d . of , 264 ; taken 
fr-om Henry the Proud, 275 ; struggle 
of Welf in, 275 ; taken from Henry the 
Lion, 278 ; Maximilian, duke of, in the 
thirty years' war, 423 ; war of the Span- 
ish succession, 464; in the Confedera- 
tion of the Rhine, 525 ; supports Austria 
in the Austro-Prussian war, 578; an 
ally of Prussia in the Franco-Prussian 
war, 581. 

Bayard, Chevalier, 384, 386. 

Bellona, 132. 

Beauharnais, Josephine, 517, 522. 

Beaumont, 448. 

Beauregard, 608. 

Becket, Thomas k, 293, 294. 

Bede, 251. 

Bedr, battle of, 225. 

Beethoven, 546. 

Belgse,one of the three nations of Gaul, 
163. 

Belgium, 557. 

Belisarius, 219, 220. 

Belshazzar, k. of Babylon, 49. 

Benedict XL, pope, 314; XII., 333. 

Benedict, St., 240. 



INDEX. 



657 



Benedictines, 240, 

Benningsen, 526. 

Bennington, battle at, 488. 

Bentham, Jeremy, 544, 647. 

Beranger, 643. 

Berbers, 228. 

Berengar I., 245 ; II. (of Ivrea), 245, 262. 

Berkeley, 492. 

Berlin Conference (1878), 586. 

Berlin decree, 527. 

Bernadotte, 530. 

Bernard, St., 276, 291, 305. 

Bernard of Weimar, 428. 

Berne, Reformation in, 403. 

Bertha, wife of Henry IV., 265. 

Berzelius, 546. 

Bessarabia, 553. 

Bessel, 635. 

Bessus, 115. 

Bible, Luther's translation of, 400; Eng- 
lish version of, 435. 

Bienneville, battle of, 290. 

Bierstadt, 645. 

Bill of Rights, 462. 

Birger Jarl, 346, 

Bismarck, 577 seq., 583, 587, 592, 620. 

Black Death, in England, 319 ; in France, 
319; in Germany, 333. 

Blackmore, 639. 

Blanc, Louis, 564, 643. 

Blanche of Castile, 298. 

Blake, Admiral, 440. 

Bleek, 642. 

Blois, treaties of, 384. 

Bliicher, 531 seq. 

Bluntschli, 643. 

Boabdil, Moorish k., 370. 

Boadicea, revolt of, 179. 

Boccaccio, 339. 

Bodin, 446. 

Boeotia, defeats the Athenians, 104. 

Boers, 626. 

Eohemia,warof Ottocar II. with Rudolph, 
332 ; John, king of, 248 ; Bohemian line 
of emperors, 333; Hussite struggle in, 
334 ; union with Hungary, 372 ; revolt 
against Ferdinand II., 423 ; devastation 
of, 423. 

Bohemond of Tarentum, 273. 

Boileau, 490. 

Boissier, 643. 

Boleslav, k. of Bohemia, I., 261 ; 11., 261. 

Boleslav, k. of the Poles, I., 347;' III., 348. 

Bolivar, Simon, 551. 

Bolivia, 551, 615. 

Bonaparte, Jerome, 526. 

Bonaparte, Louis, k. of Holland, 526. 

Bonaparte, Lucien, 526. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, see Napoleon I. 

Bond (astronomer), 635. 

Bonheur, Rosa, 6/^4. 

Boniface, bp. of Mentz, 234, 239. 

Boniface, general under Placidia, 208. 



Boniface, marquis of Montferrat, 279. 
Boniface VIII., pope, 312 seq., 335, 350, 

354- 

Booth, Wilkes, 610. 

Bopp, 643. 

Borgia, Caesar, 378, 384. 

Boris Godounof, czar of Russia, 382. 

Borodino, battle of, 530. 

Bossuet, 490. 

Boston Port Bill, 486. 

Botta, 543. 

Bourdaloue, 490. 

Bourget, 643. 

Bouguereau, 644. 

Boulanger, 621. 

Bowen, Francis, 637. 

Boyle, Robert, 493. 

Boyne, battle of, 462. 

Braddock, Gen., 481. 

Bradshaw, 458. 

Brahmans, their religion, 28 ; their phi- 
losophy, 29 ; Brahmanical reaction, 31. 

Bramante, 393. 

Brandenburg, margrave of, an elector, 
333 ; in the thirty years' war, 425 ; the 
great elector, 454; the elector recog- 
nized as k. of Prussia, 466. 

Brandywine, battle of, 488. 

Brasidas, 103, 104. 

Brazil, 552. 

Bremer, Fredrika, 644. 

Brennus, 136. 

Breslau, peace of, 476. 

Bretigny, treaty of, 321. 

Breton, 644. 

Brewster, Sir David, 634. 

Britain, Caesar in, 163 ; Saxon conquest 
(see England). 

Britannicus (son of Claudius), 177. 

British Indian empire, 478. (See India.) 

Britons, revolt of, under Boadicea, 179. 

Brittany, independent, 213. 

Brock, Gen., 541. 

Broglie, 570. 

Brook, Lord, 444. 

Brougham, Lord, 645. 

Brown (sculptor) , 644. 

Brown, Gen., 542. 

Brown, John, 606. 

Brown, Thomas, 448, 544. 

Browning, 639. 

Brownson, Orestes A., 642. 

Bruce, David, 317, 319. 

Bruce, Robert, claimant for the crown, 

315- 

Bruce, Robert, his coronation, 316; bat- 
tle of Bannockburn, 316. 

Brugsch, 642. 

Brundisium, 160. 

Brunelleschi, 340, 393. 

Bruneti^re, 643. 

Brunhilde, 214. 

Bruno, Giordano, 447. 



658 



INDEX. 



Brutus, Decimus, i66. 

Brutus, M. Junius, i66 ; his death, 167. 

Bryant, W. C, 640. 

Buchanan, James, pres. of the U. S., 605. 

Bucharest, peace of, 553. 

Buckingham, favorite of Charles I. of 

England, 436. 
Buddha, life of, 29; his doctrine, 29, 30; 

deification of, 30. 
Buddhism, in China, 23 ; spread of, 30. 
Buffon, 493. 
Bulgaria, 586. 
Bulgarians cross the Danube, 220, 223; 

attaclc the Greek empire, 270. 
Bull, the Golden, 333. 
Bull Run, battle of, 608. 
Biilow, Count, 620. 
Bulwer, 639. 

Bunker Hill, battle of, 486. 
Bunsen, C. K. J. von, 642. 
Bunsen, R. W., 634. 
Bunyan, John, 458. 
Burgoyne, Gen., 488. 
Burgundians, move towards the Rhine, 
201 ; join with the Suevi, 206 ; con- 
quered by the Franks, 214. 
Burgundy, duchy of, separate from the 
kingdom of B., 264 ; seized by John II. 
of France, and given to Philip the Bold, 
322 ; under Charles the Bold ; 365 ; 
united with France, 367; claimed by 
Charles V. (whose claim was renounced 
in 1544), 400. 
Burgundy, kingdom of, its rise, 208 ; en- 
larged, called Aries, united to the em- 
pire, 263. 
Burke, Edmund, 478, 508. 
Burkersdorf, battle of, 477. 
Burlingame, Anson, 616. 
Burne- Jones, 644. 
Burns, Robert, 544. 
Burnside, Gen. A. E., 608, 609. 
Burr, Aaron, 539, 540. 
Burrus, 177. 
Burton, John Hill, 638. 
Burton, Robert, 448. 
Bushnell, Horace, 641. 
Butler, bp. Joseph, 492. 
Butler, marquis of Ormond, 439. 
Buttmann, 643. 
Butt. Isaac, 600. 
Byron, Lord, 554. 

Cabanel, 644. 
Cable, G.W., 641. 
Cabot, John, 389. 
Cabot, Sebastian, 389. 
Cabul, occupied by the English, 559. 
Cade, Jack, rebellion of, 328. 
Cadesia, battle of, 227. 
Cadmus, 79. 

Caesar, C. Julius, 162 ; consul, 162 ; tri- 
umvir, 162; governs cisalpine and 



transalpine Gaul, 162; campaigns in 
Gaul, 163; conquest of Gaul, 163; in 
Britain, 163; crosses the Rubicon, 164; 
defeats Pompeius in Gaul and Spain, 
165 ; in Egypt, 165 ; victories in Pon- 
tus, 165 ; in Africa and Spain, 165 ; 
character as a civilian, 165 ; his gov- 
ernment, 165 ; rebuilds Carthage and 
Corinth, 166 ; his motives, 166 ; murder 
of, 166. 
Cairnes, J. E., 637. 
Calais, the siege of, 319. 
Calderon, 447. 
Calderwood, Professor H., 636. 

Calendar, the Julian, 9 ; the Gregorian, 9. 

Calhoun, John C, 541, 603, 641. 

California, admitted as a State, 605. 

Caligula, Caius, 177, 218. 

Caliphate, the Eastern, 229, 230 ; the Fati- 
mite, 231. 

Caliphs, their functions, 227. 

Calixtus III., pope, 374. 

Callinus, go. 

Calmar, union of, 346 ; Scandinavia after 
the union of, 347. 

Calonne, 500. 

Calvin, John, 411; influence of Calvin- 
ism, 412. 

Calverts, the, 445. 

Cambray, league of, 384. 

Cambyses, k. of Persia, 42, 67. 

Cameron, 632. 

Camillus, Marcus Furius, 136. 

Camoens, 448. 

Campbell, 544. 

Campbell, Sir Colin, 594. 

Campos, Martinez, 585. 

Canada, the French in, 442; in Queen 
Anne's, King George's, and King Wil- 
liam's wars, 481 ; in the " old French 
war," 482 ; ceded to Great Britain, 483, 
597; in the American war of indepen- 
dence, 487 ; in the war of 1812-15, 541 ; 
upper and lower Canada, 597 ; Do- 
minion of, 597. 

Cannse, battle of, 147. 

Canning, 552. 

Canova, 545, 644. 

Canrobert, Gen., 572. 

Cantabrians, 145. 

Canuleius, 135. 

Canute, k. of England and Denmark, 
248, 263 ; VI., of Denmark, 345. 

Cappel, battle of, 403 ; peace of, 403. 

Capre^, 176. 

Caprivi, Count, 620. 

Capua, capture of, 147 ; surrender of, 148. 

Caracalla, Roman emp., 186, 218. 

Caraffa, Cardinal (Paul IV.) , 413. 

Carey, H. C, 637. 

Carinthia, 223. 

Carlists, the, 585. 

Carlos, Don, pretender of Spain, 585. 



INDEX. 



659 



Carlos, Don, prince of Vienne, 342. 

Carlowitz, peace of, 458, 471. 

Carlsbad resolutions, 550. 

Carlyle, Thomas, 637, 638. 

Carneades, 151. 

Carnot, 590. 

Carolinas, the, 480; in the Revolution, 
488 ; secession of, 606, 607. 

Carthage, settlement of, 52; history of, 
54 ; ascendency of, 54 ; contest with 
Pyrrhus in Sicily, 141 ; the Punic wars, 
and conquest of, 143-148 ; Carthagini- 
ans in Spain, 145 ; rebuilt, 166; reduced 
by the Vandals, 208. 

Cartier, Jacques, 441. 

Carus, Roman emp., 187. 

Casimir III,, the Great, 348, 350; IV., 

372- 

Cassander, son of Antipater, T17. 

Cassiodorus, 212. 

Cassius, 166. 

Cassius, Spurius, law of, 134. 

Castile, 342; constitution of, 342; the 
Castilians, 343. (See Spain.) 

Castlereagh, 532, 552. 

Cateau-Cambresis, peace of, 418. 

Catherine of Aragon, wife of Henry VIII., 
406. 

Catherine de Medici, 418 seq. 

Catherine II., q. of Russia, 477, 478. 

Catholic League (in Germany), 423. 

Catholic Reaction, 412. 

Catiline, his conspiracy, 161 ; his death 
161. 

Catinat, 465. 

Cato, M. Porcius, the Elder, 150, 151; 
the Younger, 161 ; takes possession of 
Cyprus, 162; supports Pompeius, 164. 

Catulus, C. Lutatius, 144 ; treaty of, 146. 

Cavaignac, 565, 570. 

Cavour, 572, 574. 

Cawnpore, massacre at, 593. 

Caxton, William, 369. 

Cecrops, 79. 

Cellini, 393. 

Celsus, 191. 

Celtiberians, 145. 

Celts, of Gaul, 163 ; of Britain, 163. 

Cerealis, 180. 

Ceres, see Demeter. 

Cervantes, 447. 

Chaeronea, battles at, 113, 157. 

Chaldaeans, 43, 44. 

Chalmers, Thomas, 637, 640. 

Chalons, battle of, 209, 210. 

Chamberlain, J., 626. 

Champlain, 442. 

Chancellorsville, battle of, 608. 

Changarnier, 570. 

Channing, William EUery, 641. 

Chantrey, 644. 

Charlemagne, 234; relation to the Sax- 
ons and Saracens, 235 ; in Italy, 236 ; 



meaning of his coronation, 237; his 
system of government, 237 ; learning 
and culture under, 238 ; his personal 
traits, 238 ; extent of his empire, 238 ; 
condition of the people, 239 ; divisions 
in the empire, 240, 245. 

Charles Albert, k. of Sardinia, 553, 558, 
568. 

Charles of Anjou, 282, 298, 335. 

Charles II., the Bad, k. of Navarre, 320, 
321. 

Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, 
365. 366. 

Charles of Bourbon, 400. 

Charles I., emp. H. R. E., see Charle- 
magne; II., the Bald, 241, 242; III., 
the Fat, 242, 243, 244; IV., 333; V. 
(I. of Spain), 399; rivalry with Francis 
I., 400, 401, 406, 408 ; Smalcaldic war, 
408 ; breach with Rome, 409 ; abdica- 
tion, 414. 

Charles I., k. of England, 436; in the 
civil war, 437 ; his trial and execution, 
438; II., 439, 454, 458, 459. 

Charles Felix, 553. 

Charles III., the Simple, k. of France, 
243, 247 ; v., the Wise, 321, 322, 323, 
325; VI., 325, 327; VII., 327: and his 
nobles, 363; his death, 364; VIII., 
368,374,383,384; IX., 419, 554; flight 
of, 556. 

Charles the Good, count of Flanders, 290. 

Charles, duke of Lorraine, 243. 

Charles Robert of Anjou, 350. 

Charles I., k. of Spain, 399 (V., emp. 
H.R.E.); II., 463; III., 465; IV., 528. 

Charles Edward Stuart, young pretender, 
469. 

Charles VIIL, Canutson, k. of Sweden, 
347; XII., 470. 

Charles of Valois, 335. 

Charter of the Forest, 300. 

Charter of Liberties, 290. 

Chartist movement, 559. 

Chase, 645. 

Chateaubriand, 543, 555. 

Chattanooga, battles of, 6og. 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 325. 

Chavennes, 644. 

Che-Hwang-te, emp. of China, built Great 
Wall, destroyed books, 22. j 

Chevalier, 643. 

Chicago, Fair at, 648. 

Childeric III., 234. 

Chili, 615. 

China, geography of, 20 ; legendary era 
of, 20 ; origin of Chinese, 20 ; union 
of three kingdoms in, 23 ; religion 
(Buddhism, Confucianism, Taou- 
ism),23; literature, government, and 
civilization of, 24 ; inventions, 24, 25 ; 
from the year 618 to 1650, 355; the 
Jesuit missions, 449; Manchu con- 



66o 



INDEX. 



quest, 449, 559; and foreign nations, 
616 ; war with Japan, 627. 

Ching-tung, 356. 

Chippewa, battle of, 542. 

Chioggia, war of, 338. 

Chloroform, 634. 

Chopin, 645. 

Chosroes I., k. of Persia, 219; II., 222. 

Chow dynasty in China, 21. 

Christ, his birth, 171 ; his apostles, 171 ; 
his death, 171. 

Christian I., k. of Norway, Denmark, 
and Sweden, 347, 404; II., 404; III., 
404; IV., 423. 

Christianity, introduction of, 170 ; prepa- 
ration for, among the heathen, 170; 
Christians persecuted under Nero, 
178 ; under Domitian, 181 ; under 
Diocletian, 188; progress of, 189; 
persecutions, 190; ancient sects and 
theology, 191 ; Christian Hfe, 192 ; 
last days of heathenism, 193; causes 
of the triumph of, in the Roman em- 
pire, 193 ; Christianity and liberty, 
194; under the successors of Con- 
stantine, 195 ; in the middle ages, 
198; conversion of the Goths, 204; of 
the Franks, 213 ; of the Saxons, 215 ; 
of the Irish, 216; effect of the Ger- 
manic conquests on, 216; conversion 
of the Germans, 239; monasticism, 
304 ; the mendicant orders, 305 ; at 
the epoch of the Reformation, 396; 
missions, 649. 

Chronology, science of, 8 ; divisions of, 

8.9. 

Chrysostom, John, 223. 

Church, R. C, 630. 

Church, the, under Constantine, 190; 
organization of, 191 ; sects and theol- 
ogy, 191 ; changes in worship, 193 ; 
in the middle ages, 216. 

Cicero, his life, 159, 160 ; speeches against 
Catiline, 161; exiled, 161, recalled, 
162; decides to support Pompeius, 
164; his eulogy of Caesar, 166; his 
Philippics, 167; his death, 167; his 
writings, 169. 

Cid, the, 282. 

Cilicia, a Roman province, 160. 

Cimbri, 155. 

Cimon, 94, 96, 97. 

Cincinnatus, 134. 

Cineas, 141. 

Cinna, 157. 

Cirta, taking of, 154. 

Cisalpine Gaul, conquest of, 144; a 
Roman province, 151 ; governed by 
J. Caesar, 162. 

Civilis, 180. 

Clapperton, 632. 

Clarendon, earl of, see Hyde. 

Clark, Dr. Samuel, 492. 



Claude, d. of Louis XII., 384. 

Claudius, Roman emp., 177; II., 187. 

Clay, Henry, 541 ; secretary of state, 602; 
his " compromise," 605 ; 641. 

Clearchus, 109. 

Clemens, S. M., 641. 

Clement II., pope, 264; III., 267, 268; 
v., 314. 332; VI., 333; VII., 326, 354, 
401, 402, 406. 

Cleombrotus, k. of Sparta, no. 

Cleomenes, k. of Sparta, 87, 89; III., 
119. 

Cleon, 103, 105. 

Cleopatra, captivates J. Caesar, 165 ; fol- 
lowed by Antonius, 167; her death, 
167. 

Clermont, council of, 272. 

Cleveland, Grover, pres. of the U. S,, 
612; second term, 628. 

Clinton, 489. 

Clisson, battle of, 471. 

Clisthenes, 89. 

Clitus, 115. 

Clive, 478. 

Clodius, 162, 164. 

Clotilde, wife of Clovis, 213. 

Clough, Arthur, 639. 

Clovis, k. of the Franks, 213, 214. 

Coalition against France, first, second, 
third, fourth, 535; sixth, seventh, 536. 

Cobden, Richard, 360. 

Cockburn, 542. 

Codrus, k. of Athens, 87. 

Coelestin II., pope, 279. 

Coenobites, 192. 

Colbert, 453, 454. 

Cole, Thomas, 644. 

Coleridge, 544. 

Coligni, Admiral, 418 se^., 441. 

Coliseum, erected, 180. 

Colonial problems, 630. 

Colonies in America, see America. 

Colonne, 500. 

Columban, 239. 

Columbus, Bartholomew, 388. 

Columbus, Christopher, discovers Amer- 
ica, 388 ; later voyages, 389. 

Comitia Curiata, 131; Centuriata, 132; 
comitia of tribes, 134. 

Commodus, Roman emp., 185. 

Communism, 588. 

Compass, came into general use, 387. 

Comte, Auguste, 636, 637. 

Comyn, John, 316. 

Concord, battle of, 486. 

Concordat, 521. 

Concordat of Worms, 268. 

Condillac, 491. 

Confucius, 21. 

Confucianism, 23. 

Congo Free State, 626. 

Congress, first Continental, in America, 
486 ; second, 487. 



INDEX. 



66 1 



Connecticut, settlement of, 444. 

Conon, 105, 109. 

Conrad I., emp. of H. R. E., 244 ; II., 263, 
275,276; III., 291; IV., 281, 282. 

Conradin, 282, 335. 

Conservatives, 559. 

Constable, 644. 

Constance, council of, 334, 355; treaty 
of, 277. 

Constance, daughter of Roger II., 278. 

Constans, Roman emp.. 194. 

Constant, Benjamin, 543, 555. 

Constantine I. (the Great), Roman emp., 
188 ; the Church under, 190 ; his suc- 
cessors, 194; II., 194; XII., 353. 

Constantinople, built up, 189; general 
council of, 205 ; fall of, 353 ; palace 
revolutions in, 586. 

Constantius II., Roman emp., 194. 

Constantius Chlorus, 188. 

Constitutions of Clarendon, 293. 

Constitution of the United States, 489. 

Conti, Cardinal de Retz, 452. 

Cook, Capt., 598. 

Cooper, James Fenimore, 640. 

Copenhagen, Diet of, 404. 

Copernicus, 446. 

Copp6e, 643. 

Corday, Charlotte, 512. 

Cordeliers, 503, 504. 

Cordova, the caliphs of, 231. 

Corinth, the Corinthian war, 109 ; allied 
with Athens, 109; delivered from the 
Macedonians, 119; destruction of, 
150; rebuilt, 166. 

Coriolanus, Caius Marcius, 134. 

Comeille, 490, 643. 

Cornelius, P. von, 644. 

Corn laws, repeal of, 560. 

CornwaUis, Lord, 488, 489. 

Corot, 644. 

Correggio, 394. 

Corsica, Roman province, 151. 

Cortenuova, battle at, 281. 

Cortes, Hernando, 390. 

Cosmo I., 339. 

Cossacks, 382. 

Couchon, 507. 

Council of Blood, in the Netherlands, 416. 

Council of Five Hundred, 519. 

Council of Ten, 338. 

Cournot, 637. 

Cousin, Victor, 636. 

Cowley, 448. 

Cowper, 544. 

Cranmer, Thomas, 406, 407, 429. 

Crassus, 159, 162 ; his death, 164. 

Craterus, 116, 117. 

Crawford, T., 644. 

Cr6cy, battle of, 319. 

Creighton, Bishop, 638. 

Creon, 82. 

Crespy, peace of, 408. 



Cromwell, Oliver, his character, 438 ; vic- 
tory at Naseby, 438 ; lord protector, 
440; his administration, 440. 

Cromwell, Richard, 458. 

Cromwell, Thomas, 406, 407. 

Critias, 106. 

Critolaus, 151. 

Crimea ceded to Russia, 479. 

Crimean war, 571. 

Croatia, 223. 

Croesus, k. of Lydia, 66. 

Crusades, 269 seq. ; the call of the Greeks, 
271 ; motives to the, 271 ; first crusade, 
272; second crusade, 276; third cru- 
sade, 278 ; fourth crusade, 279 ; chil- 
dren's crusade, 279 ; fifth crusade, 280 ; 
sixth crusade, 284; seventh crusade, 
284; effects of the, 284; why they ter- 
minated, 284; luxuries introduced by, 
285. 

Ctesiphon, city of, 120. 

Cuba, 389. 

CuUoden, battle of, 469. 

Cunirnund, 221. 

Cures, 127. 

Curtius, 642. 

Cuvier, 546. 

Cyaxares, k. of Media, 47, 48, 66. 

Cynoscephalae, battle of, 149. 

Cylon, 88. 

Cyprian, 190. 

Cyprus, Phoenician colonies in, 51 ; con- 
quered by the Venetians, 375; given 
up to England by the Turks, 586. 

Cyril, 223. 

Cyrus, k. of Persia, 42, 49, 62, 66; the 
Younger, 105, 106. 

Dacia, war with Trajan, 182 ; a Roman 

province, 182. 
Dacians, 181, 223. 
Dagnan-Bouveret, 644. 
Dagobert, 214. 
Daguerre, 634. 
Dalmatia, 223. 
Dalton, 546. 
Damascus, falls into the hands of the 

Saracens, 227; seat of the caliphate, 

228 ; siege of, 276. 
Damietta, taking of, 284r. 
Dana, Richard H., 640. 
Danaus, 79. 
Danby's ministry, 460. 
Danes, 201 ; see Denmark. 
Dannoura, battle of, 357. 
Dante, 307, 336, 339. 
Danton, 503 seq. ; his death, 512. 
Darboy, apb., 583. 
Darius, k. of Persia, 67, 93, 95; II., 109; 

III., 114 seq. 
Darnley, 432. 
Darwin, Charles, 636. 
Datis, 93, 94. 



662 



INDEX. 



Daubigny, 644. 
Daudet, 643. 

David, k. of the Jews, 59, 60. 
David, k. of the Scots, 291. 
Davila, 446. 

Davis, Jefferson, president of the Con- 
federate States, 606; his capture, 610. 
Davis, John, 441. 
D'Azeglio, 568. 
Deborah, 58. 
Decatur, 540, 541. 
Decazes, ministry of, 550. 
Decius, Roman emp., 187. 
Declaration of indulgence by Charles II., 

459- 

Defoe, 492. 

De Gourgues, Dominique, 441. 

Delacroix, 644. 

Delaroche, Paul, 545, 644. 

DeJawrare, its settlement, 480. 

Delos, confederacy of, 96. 

Delphi, oracle of, 82. 

Demaratus, 95. 

Demeter, 80, 132. 

Demetrius I., of Russia, 349; the pre- 
tenders, 382. 

Demetrius, brother of Perseus, 149. 

Demetrius Poliorcetes, 117. 

Democrats, the Jeffersonian, 536. 

Democritus, 91. 

Demosthenes, Athenian general, 103 ; 
death, 104. 

Demosthenes, the orator, 112, 113, 118. 

Denmark, wars of the Danes with Charle- 
magne, 235 ; Christianity planted in, 
240; invasions of England, 247 ; under 
Canute, 248 ; war with Otto I., 261 ; un- 
der Waldemar 1 1, (the Victorious) , 345 ; 
union of Calmar, 346; the Reformation 
in, 404 ; in the thirty years' war, 423 ; in 
conflict with Gustavus Adolphus, 425 ; 
the northern war with Charles XII. of 
Sweden, 470; its fleet seized by the 
English, 528 ; acquires Lauenburg,535 ; 
the Schleswig-Holstein question, 576; 
war with Austria and Prussia, 577. 

De Quincey, Thomas, 638. 

Dermot of Leinster, Irish k., 294. 

De Ruyier, 440. 

Desaix, 520. " 

Desmoulins, Camilla, 503 seq. 

Despencers, the, 317. 

De Thou, 446. 

De Tocqueville, 643. 

Dettingen, battle of, 476. 

De Wette, 643. 

Dewey, Geo., 630. 

De Witt, John, 440, 454. 

Diadochi (successors of Alexander) , 116. 

Diana, 132. 

Diaz (the painter), 644. 

Diaz, Bartholomew, 388. 

Diaz, Porfirio, 614. 



Dickens, Charles, 639. 

Diebitsch, 557. 

Diocletian, Roman emp., 188. 

Diodore of Sicily, 169. 

Diogenes, 107, 151. 

Dionysius III., k. of Portugal, 344. 

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 169. 

Dionysus, myth of, 80. 

Directory, French, 516 seq. 

Disraeli, 560, 586, 594. 

Djem, 379. 

Doctrinaires, in France, 550. 

Dollinger, Dr., 584, 642. 

Dominic, St., and the Dominicans, 305. 

Domitian, Roman emp., 181. 

Dorians, 78. 

Dorner, Dr. I., 642. 

Dost Mohammed, 594. 

Dover, treaty of, 459. 

Draco, 87, 88. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 433, 442. 

Draper, J. W., 634. 

Dred-Scott case, 605. 

Drepanum, battle of, 144. 

Dresden, captured by Frederick II., 477. 

Dreyfus case, 622. 

Droysen, 642. 

Drusus, Claudius Nero (step-son of Au- 
gustus), his campaigns in Germany, 
172; his death, 172. 

Drusus, M. Livius, 154, 156. 

Dryden, 492, 543. 

Dudevant, Mme., 643. 

Dudley, Robert, 433. 

Dufferin, Lord, 596. 

Duilius, C, 144. 

Dumas, Alexandre, 643. 

Dumouriez, 507, 509. 

Dunbar, battle at, 315. 

Duncker, 642. 

Dunkirk, siege of, 510. 

Dunoyer, 637. 

Dupont, de I'Eure, 565. 

Dupr6, 644. 

Durand, 644. 

Durazzo, Charles, 338. 

Diirer, Albert, 394. 

Dutch, settlements in America, 442. 

D wight, T., 544. 

Early, Gen., 609. 

East Goths, 201 ; invaded by the Huns, 
204; under Theodoric, 211, 212; fall of 
their kingdom in Italy, 220. 

East India Company, formation of, 478 ; 
ceases to govern India, 594. 

East, the far (1880-1900), 627. 

Eastern Empire, separated from the West- 
ern, 196; conquers the kingdom of the 
Vandals, 211 ; religious disputes in, 
217 ; hippodrome, 218 ; war with Per- 
sia, 219; conquest of Africa, 219; con- 
quest of Italy, 219; civil law, 220; 



INDEX. 



663 



Lombards in Italy, 220; controversy 
on image worship, 222 ; literature and 
culture, 223 ; the Slavonic tribes, 223 ; 
in the era of the Crusades, 269, 270; 
Latin empire in the East, 279; fall of 
Constantinople, 353. 

Eastlake, 644. 

Eberhard, brother of Conrad I., 244. 

Ebers, 642. 

Ecclesiastical Reservation, 424. 

Ecuador, 551. 

Edeem, 209. 

Edgar, k. of England, 248. 

Edgehill, battle of, 43S. 

Edict of Nantes, promulgated, 422 ; abro- 
gated, 456. 

Edict of Restitution, 424. 

Edrissites, 231. 

Edward I., k. of England, war with Philip 
IV., 312; his conquest of Wales, 315; 
his death, 316 ; IL, 316 ; his deposition, 
316; his murder, 317; III., 317; war 
with France, 317 seq.; IV., 366; V., 
366 ; VI . , 429. 

Edward, the Black Prince, 319, 322 ; his 
death, 323. 

Edward the Confessor, k. of England, 
248, 250. 

Edwards, Jonathan, 493. 

Egbert, k. of Wessex, 215, 247. 

Eginhard, on Charlemagne, 238. 

Egmont, Count, 415, 416. 

Egypt, as a part of Asia, 18 ; land and 
people, 33 ; divisions of the country, 
33; early culture in, 34; hieroglyphics, 
34 ; sources of knowledge of its history, 
35 ; three sections in its history, 36 ; 
chronology, 36; political system, 36; 
religion, 37, 38; embalming, 38; reli- 
gion and morality, 38 ; priests, 38 ; lit- 
erature and science, 38 ; old empire, 38 ; 
middle empire, 39; new empire, 40; 
conquered by Persia, 67; under the 
Ptolemies, 117; conquered by Csesar, 
165 ; conquered by the Arabs, 228 ; in 
the sixth crusade, 284 ; under Mehemet 
Ali,554; his revolt, 560 ; expedition of 
Bonaparte, 518 ; Egypt and the West- 
ern powers, 595 ; revolt of Arabi Pasha, 
595 ; relation to the Soudan, 596 ; po- 
litical events in (1885 and after), 624. 

Elba, given to Napoleon, 532; his return 
from, 533. 

Eldon, Lord, 646. 

Eleanor, wife of Louis VII., of France, 
291, 292. 

Eleatic school, 91. 

Eliot, George, 639. 

Eliot, Sir John, 436, 446. 

Elijah, the prophet, 61. 

Elisha, the prophet, 61. 

Elizabeth, q. of England, 420 ; character, 
431 ; religious position, 431, 433. 



Ellenborough, Lord, 646. 

El Mahdi, 596. 

El Obeid, 596. 

Emanuel the Great, k. of Portugal, 388. 

Embargo, 540. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 640, 642. 

Emir al Omra, 231. 

Empedocles, 91. 

Endicott, John, 443. 

Enghien, duke of, 523. 

England (see Britain), Saxon conquest of, 
215; conversion of the Saxons, 215; 
the Danes in, 247 j^^./ Norman con- 
quest of, 250 seq., 258; the Norman 
kings, 289 seq.; Charter of Liberties 
(Henry I.), 290; first period of rival- 
ship with France, 289 seq. ; the Plan- 
tagenets, 291 seq.; wide dominions of 
Henry II., 292; Constitutions of Clar- 
endon, 293 ; conquest of Ireland, 294; 
Magna Charta, 296 ; trade in the era of 
the Crusades, 303 ; founding of Oxford, 
305 ; writers in the era of the Crusades, 
307; second period of rivalship with 
France, 309 seq. ; character of English 
armies (in the hundred years' war), 320; 
treaty of Bretigny, 321 ; Wickliffe and 
the Lollards, 323 ; language and litera- 
ture (14th century), 324; conquest of 
the Welsh, 325 ; loss of French pos- 
sessions, 327; wars of the Roses, 368 ; 
Henry VI IL and Luther, 405 ; separa- 
tion from Rome, 406; conflict of reli- 
gious parties under Henry VIII., 407; 
organization of Anglican Episcopal 
Church, 429; Catholicism of Mary, 430; 
defeat of the Spanish Armada, 433; con- 
quest of Ireland (under Elizabeth) , 434 ; 
Puritanism in, 434; " Gunpowder Plot," 
435 ; Long Parliament and civil war, 
437 ^^1- •' the Commonwealth, 439 seq. ; 
English voyages and settlements, 441 
seq.; philosophy and literature in (1517- 
1648), 447, 448; Restoration, 458; 
" Year of Wonders," 459 ; Monmouth's 
rebellion, 460 ; revolution of 1688, 461 ; 
peace of Ryswick, 463 ; war of the 
Spanish succession, 463 seq. ; peace of 
Utrecht, 466 ; house of Hanover, 468 ; 
war of Austrian succession, 469 ; rise 
of its Indian Empire, 478 ; contests 
with France in America, 479 seq.; war 
of American Independence, 485 seq.; 
literature and philosophy in (1648-1789), 
492; deism in, 493; Methodism in, 
494 ; first coalition against France, 508 ; 
peace of Amiens, 521 ; " Orders in 
Council," 527; Wellington in Spain, 
529 ; Waterloo, 533 ; war with the U. S., 
542 seq.; literature in ( 1789-18 15), 543 ; 
policy of Canning, 552; "Catholic 
Emancipation," 558 ; the Reform Bill, 
558 ; abolition of slavery, 559 ; repeal 



664 



INDEX, 



of the corn laws, 560; the Crimean 
war, 571 ; relations to Russia, the Ber- 
lin conference, 585 seq.; the Indian 
mutiny, 593; wars with the Afghans, 
594 ; " the Oriental Question," Egypt, 
595 seq.; Canada, "the Dominion," 
598 seq. ; relations to Australia, 598 ; 
relations to Ireland, 599 seq. ; geograph- 
ical exploration (since i8i5),63i; phi- 
losophy in, 623; literature in, 624; 
theology in, 625 ; reform of criminal law 
in, 646. (See the different sovereigns.) 

Ennius, 151. 

Epaminondas, no, iii. 

Ephraim, 58. 

Epigoni, 82. 

Erasmus, Desiderius, 392. 

Erastosthenes, 121. 

Erdmann, 637. 

Erechtheum, 98. 

Eric II., k. of Norway, 346. 

Eric XIII., of Pomerania, 347. 

Eric XIV., k. of Sweden, 424. 

Erigena, John Scotus, 245. 

Esarhaddon, k. of Assyria, 42, 47. 

Esau, 56. 

Espartero, 564. 

Ethelbert, k. of Kent, 215. 

Ethnology, function of, 9 ; relation to his- 
tory, 10, II. 

Etienne Marcel, 321. 

Etruscans, 124; war with Rome, 136; in 
the Samnite wars, 139; Gauls in Etru- 
ria, 145. 

Euclid, 121. 

Euclides (archon), 106. 

Eudoxia, 211. 

Eugene, Prince, 458, 464. 

Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III., 571. 

Euhemerus, 121. 

Eumenes, 117. 

Eumolpidae, 85. 

Eupatrids, 88. 

Euripides, 98, 100. 

European diplomacy (1880-1900), 623. 

Europe, physical geography of, 73 ; early 
inhabitants of, 73 ; political changes in 
the recent period, 547 ; military system 
in, 548 ; science and invention, peace 
and philanthropy, socialism, 548. (See 
the different countries.) 

Eurybiades, 95. 

Eurymedon, battle of, 96. 

Eusebius, 223. 

Eustace, count of Boulogne, 272. 

Eutropius, 205. 

Evelyn, diary of, 459. 

Everett, Edward, 641. 

Evesham, battle of, 300. 

Ewald, 642. 

Eylau, battle of, 526. 

Ezekiel, 50, 52, 62. 

Ezra, 62. 



Fabius Maximus, Q., consul, 139 ; dic- 
tator, 147. 

Fair Oaks, battle of, 608. 

Falk laws in Prussia, 591. 

Faraday, 635. 

Farguet, 643. 

Farragut, admiral, 608. 

Fatima, 227. 

Fatimite caliphs, 231. 

Favre, Jules, 582, 584. 

Fawcett, 637. 

Federalists, 536 ; rupture of, 538 ; end of 
the party of, 601. 

Federative commemoration in France, 

503 • 
Fehrbellin, battle of, 454. 
Felton, John, 436. 
Fenelon, 490. 

Feodor, czar of Russia, 382. 
Ferdinand I., emp. H. R. E., 282, 423; 

II., 423; III., 428. 
Ferdinand of Brunswick, 506. 
Ferdinand, the Catholic, k. of Aragon, 

341, 342, 370, 371, 383, 389. 
Ferdinand III., St. Ferdinand of Castile, 

342- 
Ferdinand VII., k. of Spain, 550, 564. 
Ferdinand, k. of Naples, 384; II., 568, 

569- 

Feretti, Mastai (Pope Pius IX.), 568. 

Ferrier, 636. 

Feudal system, 255 ; origin of, 255 ; sub- 
stance of, 256 ; entanglements of, 257 ; 
ecclesiastical, 257 ; spirit of, 258. 

Feuillants, 504. 

Fichte, 545, 637. 

Fidenae, 176. 

Fielding, 492. 

Fieschi, 560. 

Fillmore, Millard, pres. of U. S., 605. 

Finland, 345. 

Firdousi, 69, 232. 

Fischer (German philosopher), 637. 

Fiske, John, 641. 

Fitchj.John, 538. 

Flaminius, T. Quintius, 146, 149. 

Flanders, cities in middle ages, 303. 

Flavia Domatilla, 181. 

Flavio Gioja, first use of compass, 387. 

Flaxman, John, 545. 

Fletcher, 448. 

Fleurus, battle of, 513. 

Flodden Field, battle of, 386. 

Florence, 338,375 ; in the age of Lorenzo, 
376. 

Florida, contest of French and Spanish 
settlers in, 441 ; purchase of, 601 ; ad- 
mission to the Union, 613. 

Fonseca, pres. Brazil, 615. 

Fontenaille, battle of, 241. 

Fornuova, battle of, 383. 

Fort Henry taken, 607. 

Fort Sluys, battle near, 318. 



INDEX. 



665 



Fort Sumter, surrender of, 606. 

Foscari, Francesco, 338. 

Foscolo, Ugo, 543. 

Fouch6, 507. 

Fourier, Charles, 588. 

Fox, Charles James, 508. 

Fox, George, 493. 

Fra Angelico, 394. 

France (see Franks) , rise of the kingdom 
of, 242 ; Hugh Capet, king of, 243 ; its 
close connection with England, 289 
seq.; extension of English power in 
(under Henry H. of England), 292; 
weakening of great vassals in, 294 ; vic- 
tory of, at Bouvines, 297 ; the Albigen- 
sian war, 297 ; first period of rivalship 
with England, 289 ; Parliaments in, 299 ; 
its cities in the era of the Crusades, 303 ; 
the University of Paris, 305 ; literature 
in (in the era of the Crusades), 306; 
cathedrals in, 308; second period of 
rivalship with England, 309 ; progress 
of royalty in (1270-1327), 309; conflict 
with Boniface VHL, 312; suppression 
of the Knights Templars, 314 ; the Salic 
Law, 315 ; the hundred years' war, 317 ; 
Cr6cy, 319; "the Black Death," 319; 
battle of Poitiers, 320; revolt of the 
Jacquerie, 321 ; treaty of Bretigny, 321 ; 
battle of Agincourt, 326; Joan of Arc, 
327'; the English driven out, 327; in 
the " Babylonian Exile," 354 ; in the era 
of the Reforming Councils, 354 ; litera- 
ture in (in the middle ages), 359; strife 
of king with nobles (under Louis XL), 
365 ; acquires the duchy of Burgundy, 
367; invasions of Italy by, 383 seq.; 
rivalry of Francis L and Charles V., 
400 ; the civil wars in, 417 seq. ; mas- 
sacre of St. Bartholomew, 420; Edict 
of Nantes, 432 ; in the thirty years' war, 
427 ; Richelieu's policy, 427 ; gains, at 
the peace of Westphalia, 429; explorers 
of, in America, 441 ; the French in Can- 
ada, 442 ; literature in ( 1453-15 17 ) , 448 ; 
at the accession of Louis XIV., 452 ; his 
court, 454; the Galilean church, 455; 
Jansenism, 455 ; persecution of the Hu- 
guenots, 456 ; his war with the Grand 
Alliance, 462 ; war of the Spanish suc- 
cession, 463; at the death of Louis XIV., 
466 ; Law's Bank, 469 ; war of the Aus- 
trian succession, 475 ; in the seven 
years' war, 477 ; war with England in 
America, 4795^5?.; colonies in America, 
481 ; " Old French War," 481 ; litera- 
ture in (1648-1789) ,490 ; the eighteenth 
century, 491 ; era of the French Revo- 
lution, 497 seq. : character of, 497 ; 
causes oif^cn seq.; from the assembling 
of the states-general to the execution 
of Louis XVI., 499 seq.; to the fall of 
Robespierre, 508 seq, ; to the empire of 



Napoleon, 515 seq.; military successes 
of France (1793), 510; reign of terror, 
511; from the begmning of the Empire 
to the Russian campaign, 523 ; from the 
Russian campaign to the Congress of 
Vienna, 530; hterature (1789-1815), 
543; under Louis XVIII., 550; French 
policy in the East, 560; the second 
republic, 565 ; French empire, 570 ; the 
republic (third) siiice 1871,589; con- 
quests abroad, 590 ; philosophy in, 636 ; 
literature in, 643. 

Francia, Dr., 551. 

Francis of Angouleme, 384. 

Francis I., emp. of Austria, 549. 

Francis I., k. of France, 399; war with 
Charles V., emp. H. R. E., 400; second 
war, 401; fourth war, 408, 417 ; II., 418. 

Francis Joseph, emp. of Austria, 567, 571, 
573. 

Francis, St., and the Franciscans, 305. 

Francis Stephen (Francis I.), 474, 476; 
II., 505 (see Francis I., emp. of Austria). 

Francisco Pizarro, 390. 

Franco-Prussian war, 580. 

Frankfort, convention at, 566; parlia- 
ment, 566 ; end of the parliament, 567 ; 
incorporated in Prussia, 579. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 485, 493, 637. 

Franklin, Sir John, 632. 

Franks, chief of one of the German con- 
federacies, 201 ; war on the Alemanni, 
213 ; their possessions, 213 ; under the 
Merovingians, 214 ; expeditions against 
Burgundians, 214; second division of 
the kingdom, 214 ; under the Carlovin- 
gians, 234-246 ; Pipin the Short, 234 ; 
Charlemagne, 235-238 ; treaty of Ver- 
dun, 241 ; Eastern Carlovingians, 242 ; 
invasions of the Northmen, 246. 

Eraser, Professor A., 636. 

Fraunhofer, 634. 

Frauwa, 202. 

Fredegunde, 214. 

Frederic V., Elector Palatine, 423, 435. 

Frederic I., k. of Denmark, 404. 

Frederic William, the Great Elector, 454. 

Frederick Augustus II., k. of Poland, 471. 

Frederick I., Barbarossa, emp. of H. R. E., 
276 ; struggle with Lombard cities, 276 ; 
and Pope Alexander III., 277; in Ger- 
many, 278; II., made king, 280; his 
character, 280 ; contest with the popes, 
281, 331 ; III., of Austria, 332, 351, 371. 

Frederick, duke of Swabia, 278. 

Frederick of Hohenstaufen, 275. 

Frederick IV., k. of Denmark, 470. 

Frederick II. (the Great), of Prussia, 474; 
alliance against, 476 ; seven years' war, 
477i 505 ; I'fl-i emp. Germany, 593. 

Frederick William, k. of Prussia, I., 474; 
III., 524, 531, 549; IV., 576, 591. 

Fredericksburg, battle at, 608. 



666 



INDEX. 



Freeman, Edward A., vi ; on the Normans, 
254; on the history of Sweden, 344; 638. 
Freiligrath, 642. 
Fremont, 608. 
Frere, Sir Bartle, 651. 
Fresnel, 546. 
Freya, see Frauwa. 
Freyr, see Fro. 
Freytag, Gustav, 642. 
Friedrichshall, battle of, 472. 
Frisians, 201. 

Fro, 2Q2. 

Frobisher, Martin, 441. 
Froude, 452, 638. 
Fry, Elizabeth Gurney, 647. 
Fulton, Robert, 538, 632. 
Fiissen, peace of, 476. 

Gage, Gen., 486. 

Gainas, 205. 

Gainsborough, 545. 

Galatia, 120. 

Galba, Rom. emp., 179, 180. 

Galeazzo, Giovanni, 374. 

Galeazzo, Maria, 374. 

Galileo, 446. 

Galle, 635. 

Galli, one of the divisions of Gaul, 163. 

Gallican Church, 455. 

Gallienus, Roman emp., 187. 

Gallus, cousin of Constantius II., 194. 

Gambetta, 582, 590. 

Gardiner, S. R., 638. 

Garfield, Jas. A.,pres. of U. S., 611. 

Garibaldi, 569. 

Garrison, William Lloyd, 604. 

Garza, Catarino, 614. 

Gaston de Foix, 386. 

Gates, Gen., 488. 

Gaul, conquest of Cisalpine, by the Ro- 
mans, 144 ; Cisalpine, a Roman prov- 
ince, 151 ; three divisions of, 163 ; 
severed from the Empire, 206. 

Gauls, the, inhabitants of ancient Italy, 
124; invasion of Rome by, 136. 

Gaveston, Peter, 316. 

Gay-Lussac, 546. 

Geijer, 644. 

Gelimer, k. of the Vandals, 219. 

Gen, clan of, 357. 

Genealogies : Macedonia, 123 ; Julian im- 
perial house, 175 ; Claudian imperial 
house, 175 ; imperial house of Constan- 
tine, 195; Theodosian imperial house, 
203 ; Carlovingian house, 233 ; Norman 
princes in Italy, 255 ; Saxon, Franco- 
nian, and Hohenstaufen imperial 
houses, 259 ; the Welfs, 275 ; descend- 
ants of Hugh Capet, 287 ; England from 
the conquest to Edward I., 288; the 
house of Valois, 309, 318 ; descendants 
of Edward I. of England, 310; Milan, 
the Visconti and Sforza, 329 ; the three 



northern kingdoms before the union of 
Calmar, 330 ; the Medici, 373 ; the Ot- 
toman Sultans, 377; Russia, 380; the 
Tudors and Stuarts, 385 ; France, the 
Bourbons, 426 ; claimants of the palat- 
inate, 462; claimants of the Spanish 
succession, 464 ; house of Hanover, 
468 ; the Bonapartes, 514. 

Genet, 537. 

Geneva, government of, in the period of 
the Reformation, 411; Calvin's influ- 
ence, 412. 

Genghis Khan, 283, 351, 356. 

Genseric, 208, 209, 210, 211. 

Geoffrey of Monmouth, 307. 

Geography, its relation to history, 7, 8. 

Geopteke, 595. 

George, k. of England, I., 469; II., 469; 
III., 490; .IV., 549, 552. 

Georgia, settlement of, 480 ; secession of, 
606. 

Gepidae, 220. 

Gerbert, 263. 

Germanicus (son of Drusus), his expe- 
ditions, 172, 176. 

Germany, its victory over Rome, 172; 
habits of the ancient Germans, 202; 
their religion, 202; conversion of, 239; 
rise of the kingdom of, 240 seg. ; H. 
R. E., 262 seq.; German cities (in the 
era of the Crusades), 302; German 
writers (in the era of the Crusades), 
307 ; the great interregnum, 331 ; rise 
of the house of Hapsburg, 331 ; end of 
German power in Italy, 332 ; the Golden 
Bull, 333 ; Black Death in, 333 ; Huss- 
ite war, 334 ; relations to Switzerland, 
334; German cities (from the middle 
of the 13th century), 372; Reforma- 
tion in, 397 seq. ; condition of (in 
15 17), 398; the parties in (1532-42), 
408 ; thirty years' war, 422 seq. ; peace 
of Westphalia, 428 ; literature in (1517- 
1648), 448; 491,496; its condition at 
the beginning of the French Revolu- 
tion, 505; Confederation of the Rhine, 
525 ; war of liberation, 531 ; authors 
(1789-181S), 545; philosophy, 545; 
Holy Alliance, 549, 557; disturbances 
in, 566; new imperial constitiUion,^%'^\ 
political events in (1878-1897), 619; 
philosophy, 637; literature, 642; phi- 
lology and law, 643. (See the separate 
states, and personal names.) 

Gerome, 644. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 538. 

Gervinus, 642. 

Gettysburg, battle of, 609. 

Ghent, pacification of, 417; treaty of, 542. 

Ghibellines, 335. 

Ghiberti, 393. 

Gibbon, 492. 

Gibbs, a British general, 542, 



INDEX. 



^7 



Gibeon, 58. 

Gibraltar captured, 465. 

Gibson, John, 644. 

Giesebrecht, 642. 

Gieseler, 642. 

Gifford, S., 645. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 442. 

Gioberti, 509, 637. 

Giotto, 394. 

Girondists, 504 ; fall of, 509. 

Gladiatorial war, 159. 

Gladstone, 571, 594, 597, 600, 618. 

Glaucia, 155. 

Glencoe, massacre of, 462. 

Glendower, Owen, 325. 

Gneist, 643. 

Godfrey of Bouillon, 272, 274. 

Godwin, earl of West Saxons, 250. 

Goethe, 545, 638. 

Golden Bull, 333 ; in Hungary, 350. 

Golden Horde, 283, 352, 381. 

Goldoni, 491. 

Goldsmith, 492. 

Gonderic, k. of the Vandals in Spain, 208. 

Gonsalvo de Cordova, 384. 

Gonzalez, Manuel, 614. 

Goodyear, Charles, 633. 

Gordian, Roman emp., 187. 

Gordon, Confederate general, 597. 

Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 444. 

Gortchakoff, 586. 

Gortz, Baron von, 472. 

Gosnold, Bartholomew, 442. 

Goths, invade the Roman empire, 187; 
defeat Valens, 196 ; one of the German 
confederacies, 201 ; West Goths (Visi- 
goths) 201; East Goths (Ostrogoths), 
201. (See East Goths, West Goths.) 

Gower, 325. 

Gracchus, Caius, 154. 

Gracchus, Tiberius, 153. 

Graham, 596. 

Granada, conquest of, 370, 371. 

Grant (African traveler) , 632. 

Grant, Ulysses S., pres. of the U. S., 607 
seq., 612. 

Granvelle, 415, 416. 

Gratian, Roman emp., 196, 204. 

Gravelotte, battle of, 581. 

Gray, 492. 

Great Britain, see England. 

Greece, the land, 75 ; the Grecian states 
and islands, 76 ; the bond of race, 77 ; 
pre-historic age, 78 ; origin of the 
Greeks, 78 ; foreign influences, 79 ; Do- 
rian emigration, 79 ; migration to Asia 
Minor, 79; character and religion of 
the Greeks, 80; union of tribes, 82; 
the Delphic Amphictyony, 82; Homeric 
poems, 83 ; social life and religion in 
the Homeric age, 83, 84 ; literature, 84 ; 
aristocratic government, 85; constitu- 
tion of Lycurgus, 86; democracy, 89; 



lyrical poetry, 90 ; historical writing, 90 ; 
philosophy, 91; colonies, 91; wars with 
Persia, 93-96 ; art and architecture, loi ; 
sculpture, loi ; painting, 102 ; Pelopon- 
nesianwar, 102-106; peace of Nicias, 
102; pestilence, 103; Sicilian expedi- 
tion, naval contests, 104 ; philosophers, 
historical writings, 107 ; Greek life, 107, 
108 ; relations with Persia, 109 ; retreat 
of the Ten Thousand, 109 ; Macedo- 
nian Era, 111-116; sacred war, iii; 
Alexander in, 113; successors of Alex- 
ander in, 116; evil of faction in, 119; 
Stoics and Epicureans, 121 ; culture, 
121 ; became a Roman province, 151 ; 
the Greeks, 352. 

Greek Empire, 269, seq. (See Eastern 
Empire.) 

Greek insurrection, 553 ; independence, 
554- 

Greely, Arctic explorer, 632. 

Green, J. R., 638. 

Greene, Nathanael, 489. 

Gregoire, bp. of Blois, 500. 

Gregory I . (the Great) , 215, 221 ; IV., 
241; Vn., see Hildebrand; IX., 281; 
XL, 354; XIII., 9. 

Gregory of Nyssa, 223. 

Gregory, the inventor of the telescope, 

493- 
Gregory of Tours, 217. 
Grevy, 589, 590. 
Grey, Earl, 558. 
Grey, Lady Jane, 430. 
Grimm, J., 643. 
Grimm, W., 643. 
Grodno, battle of, 472. 
Grote, George, 638. 
Grotius, Hugo, 446. 
Grouchy, 533. 
Grove, 635. 

Guadaloupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 604. 
Guatimozin, 390. 
Guelfs, see Welfs. 
Guesclin, Bertrand du, 322, 342. 
Guibert, see Clement III. 
Guido Reni, 394. 

Guise, family of, 418 seq. ; 420 ; 421. 
Guizot, 555, 560; his administration, 561, 

643- 
Gundobald, k. of Burgundy, 213. 
Gunpowder, 387. 
Gunpowder plot, 435. 
Gustavus Adolphus, 382, 424. 
Gutenberg, John, 387. 
Guy Fawkes, 435. 

HABEAS Corpus Act, 460. 
Hadrian, pope, I., 236; IV., 295, 354. 
Hadrian, Roman emp., 182. 
Hague, international tribunal at, 649. 
Hakem, 231, 271, 282. 
Hakon VI., k. of Norway, 345, 346, 



668 



INDEX. 



Hall, bp., 448. 

Hallam, Henry, 638. 

Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 640. 

Halley, 493. 

Hamilcar Barcas, 144, 145. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 489, 536 seq., 637. 

Hamilton, Sir William, 636. 

Hammurabi, 44. 

Hampden, John, 437. 

Hampton Roads, battle of, 608. 

Han Rulers in China, 22. 

Hancock, John, 487. 

Hancock, Thomas, 633. 

Handel, 395. 

Hannibal, 146; in Italy, 146-148; his 
death, 149. 

Hanno, the Carthaginian, 144. 

Hanno, abp. of Cologne, 264. 

Hanover seized by Napoleon, 522. 

Hanseatic League, 343, 345. 

Hapsburg, house of, foundation of its 
power, 331. 

Hardrada, k. of the Norwegians, 250. 

Hardy, 639. 

Hare, Julius, 638. 

Harley, earl of Oxford, 466. 

Harmodius, 89. 

Harnack, 642. 

Harold, k. of the Danes, 261. 

Harold Fairhair, 346. 

Harold, son of Godwin, 250. 

Haroun-al-Raschid, 230, 238. 

Harrison, William H., 541. 

Harrison, Benj., 612. 

Harte, Bret, 641. 

Hartford convention, 542. 

Hartmann, E. von, 637. 

Harvard College, founded, 444, 484. 

Harvey, 447. 

Hasdrubal, son-in-law of Hamilcar, 144, 

145; S071 of Hamilcar, 146-148. 
Hashimites, 224. 

Hastings, leader of the Northmen, 246. 
Hastings, battle of, 250. 
Hastings, Warren, 478. 
Hatto I., n., abps. of Mentz, 242. 
Havelock, Gen., 593. 
Hawaiian Islands annexed to U. S., 631. 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 640. 
Haydn, 546. 

Hayes, R. B., pres. of the U. S., 611. 
Hayne, Robert Y., 603. 
Hayti, discovery of, 389. 
Hebrews, peculiarity of the, 55; patri- 
archal age, 55 ; exodus, 56 ; laws, 57 ; 
religion, 57; prophets, 57; conquest of 
Canaan, 57; the monarchy, 58; chro- 
nology, 59 ; heathen rites, 61 ; struggle 
with idolatry, 61 ; Assyrian Captivity, 
61; Babylonian Captivity, 61; revolt 
under the Maccabees, 63 ; literature, 
63 ; art, 63. (See Jews.) 
Hedin, Dr. Sven, 632. 



Heen-fung, emp. of China, 616. 

Heeren, 642. 

Hefele, 642. 

Hegel, 545, 637, 643. 

Hegira, 225. 

Hei, clan of, 357. 

Heidelberg founded, 276. 

Heine, Heinrich, 642. 

Helen of Troy, 82. 

Helena, empress, 271. 

Heiiogabalus, Roman emp., 186. 

Hellas, see Greece. 

Helmholtz, 634, 635. 

Helvetian Republic, 518. 

Helvetii, 163. 

Hengist, 215. 

Henry, C. S., 637. 

Henry, J., 633. 

Henry of Burgundy, count of Portugal, 

343- 
Henry, k. of Castile, III., 342; IV., 342. 
Henry, k. of B'rance, II., 417; III., 420, 

421; IV., 422. 
Henry of Guise, 420, 421. 
Henry the Lion, 275, 277, 278. 
Henry of Navarre, 420, 421. (See Henry 

IV. of France.) 
Henry the Navigator, son of John I. of 

Portugal, 344. 
Henry, Patrick, 485. 
Henry the Pious, duke of Liegnitz, 283. 
Henry the Proud, duke of Saxony, 269, 

275- 

Henry Raspe, 281. 

Henry, son of Frederick II., elected k. of 
Rome, 280; 281. 

Henry, duke of the Saxons, 244. 

Henry of Transtamare, 322, 342. 

Henry, cardinal York, 470. 

Henry I., the Fowler, k. of Germany, 
260; II., emp. of H. R. E., 263; III., 
264; IV., 264 seq.; V., 268, 275, 290; 
VI., 278; VII., 332, 336. 

Henry, k. of England, I., 290, 291; II., 
278, 291 ; his dominions, 292 ; his re- 
forms, 293; his death, 294; III., 298, 
299, 300; IV. (Bolingbroke) , 324, 325 
seq.; V., 326; VI., 327, 328, 368, 360; 
VII., 369, 383; VIII., 383, 402; arid 
Luther, 405; divorce question, 406; ex- 
communicated, 406, 429. 

Heraclea, battle at, 140. 

Heracles, 81. 

Heraclitus, 91. 

Heraclius, Greek emp., 222, 226, 

Herat, capture of, 594. 

H6bert, 512. 

Herbart, 637. 

Herbert, George, 448. 

Herbert, Lord, 493. 

Herculaneum destroyed, 181. 

Hercules, 133. 

Hercules II., duke of Ferrara, 386. 



INDEX. 



669 



Herder, 545. 

Herkomer, 644. 

Hermanfrid, k. of the Thuringians, 214. 

Hermann, C., 643. 

Hermanric, 201. 

Herod (the Great), k. of Judaea, 121, 171 

Herodotus, on Persian religion, 65. 

Herrera, 447. 

Herschel, A., 635. 

Herschel Sir John, 634, 635. 

Herschel, Sir William, 493. 

Hesiod, 81, 85, 91. 

Heyne, 643. 

Hezekiah, k. of Judah,46, 62. 

Hickok, L. P., 637. 

Hicks, Pasha, 596. 

Hiero H., k. of Syracuse, 143; alliance 

with Hannibal, 147. 
Hieroglyphics in Egypt, 34. 
Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VH.) , arch- 
deacon, 250, 265 ; contest with Henry 
IV., 266, 271, 354. 
Hildimer, 219. 
Hildreth, Richard, 641. 
Hincmar, abp. of Rheims, 245. 
Hindustan, conquest of, 352. 
Hipparchus, 89. 
Hippias, 89,93. 
Hippocrates, 447. 

Hippodrome, the, at Constantinople, 218. 
Hiram, k. of Tyre, 52, 60. 
Historical criticism, 7. 
Historical writing, 5. 
History, definition of, i ; scope of, 2 ; 
Hermann Lotze on, 2; Goldwin Smith 
on, 2 ; philosophy of, 2 ; freedom of, 2 ; 
personal influence on the course of, 3 ; 
meaning of, 4; classification in, 5; old 
and new type of, 6 ; sources of, 6 ; credi- 
bility of, 7 ; its relation to geography, 7 ; 
its relation to ethnology, 10, 11. 
History, ancient, 15, 16 ; division of, 17 ; 
ethnographically considered, 17 ; geo- 
graphically, 17. 
History, modern, 15, 16, 361. 
History, oriental, as division of ancient 
history, 17 ; sections of, 17 ; retrospect, 
69-72. 
Hittites, 41. 
Hobbes, 447. 
Hoche, 516, 518. 
Hodge, Charles, 641. 
Hoe, 633. 
Hofer, 528. 
Hogarth, 394. 

Hohenlinden, victory of, 520. 
Hohenlohe, Prince, 620. 
Holbein, Hans, 394. 

Holland, 303; war with England, 439; 
attack of Louis XIV., 453 ; conquest of, 
by France, 516; Belgium separated 
from, 557. (See Netherlands.) 
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 640. 



Holstein,347. (See Schleswig-Holstein.) 
Holy Alliance, 549. 
Holy Harmanadad, 370. 
Holy League, 386. 

Holy Roman Empire, 262. (See Ger- 
many.) 

Homer, 81, 85,91, 113. 

Homer, Winslow, 645. 

Homeric age, see Greece. 

Honorius III., pope, 280. 

Honorius, Roman emp., 205, 206; his 
death, 208. 

Hood, Thomas, 639. 

Hooker, Gen., 608, 609. 

Hooker, Richard, 448. 

Hophra, see Apries II. 

Horace, 169. 

Horatius, Roman consul, .135. 

Horn, Count, 415. 

Horsa, 215. 

Hortense, 517. 

Hosea, 62. 

Hoshea, k. of Israel, 46. 

Hospitallers, St. John, 274. 

House of Burgesses in Virginia, 443. 

House of Commons, rise of, 300. (See 
Parliament.) 

Houston, Gen. Sam, 604. 

Howard, John, 647. 

Howe, Admiral, 488. 

Howe, General, 488. 

Howells, W. D., 641. 

Hubert de Burgh, 295. 

Hubertsburg, peace of, 478. 

Hudson, Henry, 442. 

Hugh, Count of Provence, 245; k. of 
Italy, 262. 

Hugh, Count of Vermandois, 272. 

Hugh the Great, duke of the French, 243. 

Hugh Capet, k. of France, 243, 247. 

Hugo, Victor, 570, 643. 

Huguenots, 418 seq., 456. 

Hull, Capt. Isaac, 541. 

Hull, Gen. William, 591. 

Humbert II., 320. 

Humboldt, Alexander von, 545. 

Humboldt, William von, 545, 643. 

Hume, David, 492, 636. 

Hundred Years' War, period I., 317-322 ; 
origin of the war, 317; early events, 
318; period II., 322-327; period III., 
327, 328. 

Hungarians, incursions of, 249. 

Hungary, kingdom founded, 223; war 
against Otto the Great, 261 ; 350 ; 457 ; 
557 ; revoU of, 567. (See Austro-Hun- 
garian Empire.) 

Hung Lew-tseuen, 616. 

Hung-wu, 356. 

Huns, irruption of the, 196, 204; geo- 
graphical position of, 202; character- 
istics of, 204, 209; defeat at Chalons, 
209 ; in Italy, 210. 



6/0 



INDEX. 



Hunt, Holman, 644. 

Hunt, William, 644. 

Huntington (the painter) , 645, 

Hunyady, John, 350. 

Huskisson, 558. 

Huss, John, 334. 

Hussite war, 334. 

Hutten, Ulrich von, 392, 398. 

Huxley, 636. 

Hyacinthe, Pfere, 584. 

Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, 459. 

Hyrcanus, 160. 

Iaroslaf I., of Russia, 349. 

Ibrahim (son of Mehemet Ali), 554, 
560. 

Iglesias, 616. 

Ignatius, bp. of Antioch, 190. 

lUyrian pirates, war against, 145. 

Illyricum, a Roman province, igi. 

Imperial Chamber, German, 372. 

India, geography of, 25, 26 ; Aryan inva- 
sion of, 26; earlier tribes, 26; Vedic 
religion in, 26; invasion of Alexander, 
115, 302, 357; new route to, 388; the 
Mughal Empire, 450 ; British sway in, 
593; mutiny in, 593. 

Indians, Algonquin, 442; Huron, 442; 
Iroquois, 442, 445; treatment of, in 
New England, 446. 

Inez de Castro, 344. 

Inkermann, battle of, 572. 

Inness, 645. 

Innocent II., pope, 291; III., 278, 279, 
295-297, 312; IV., 281; VI., 339; 
Vni.,378. 

Inquisition, its origin, 297 ; in Italy, 414. 

Institutions, as a source of historical evi- 
dence, 6. 

Insubrians, 145. 

Interim of Augsburg, 409. 

Inventions in the 14th and 15th centuries, 
387 ; in the 19th century, 632 seq. 

lonians, 78. 

Ionian cities, conquest by Persia, 66; 
revolt from Persia, 93. 

Ireland, conversion of, 216 ; conquest of, 
294, 434, 435 ; relations to England, 599. 

Irenseus, 192. 

Irene, emp. of Greek empire, 222. 

Ireton, 458. 

Irmak, 381. 

Irving, Edward, 640. 

Irving, Washington, 640. 

Isaac, 55. 

Isaac I., Eastern emp., 270. 

Isaac II., Angelus, Eastern emp., 279. 

Isabel, wife of Edward II., 317. 

Isabella of Castile, 341, 370, 388. 

Isabella II. of Spain, 564. 

Isaiah, 62, 63. 

Ishbosheth, son of Saul, 59. 

Ishmael, 56. 



Ismail Pasha, 595. 

Isomorphism, 635. 

Israelites, bondage of, in Egypt, 41. (See 
Hebrews.) 

Issus, battle of, 114. 

Istria, became Slavonic, 223. 

Italy, geography and ethnology, 123; 
compared with Greece, 125 ; for ancient 
history, j^(? Rome; Alaric in, 205, 206; 
Radagaisus in, 206; Attila in, 210; 
Vandals in, 211 ; Odoacer, ruler of, 211 ; 
Ostrogothic kingdom in, Theodoric, 
211 ; conquest by Justinian, 219; Lom- 
bard kingdom in, 220 ; Pipin's conquest 
in, 235 ; Charlemagne's conquestof, 237; 
a separate kingdom, Berengar II., 245 ; 
Otto Lin Italy, the H.R.E., 262; Henry 
III . in, 264 ; contest of Frederick Barba- 
rossa with the Lombard cities, 276; 
Guelphs and Ghibellines, 275, 335 ; the 
Sicilian kingdom after Frederick II., 
282 ; freedom in the cities, party con- 
tests, 335 ; the tyrants, 336 ; condot- 
tieri, 337; five states in (1450), 337; 
literature and art in, 339 ; trade and 
commerce in, 340 ; invasion of Charles 
VIII., 383; invasions of Louis XII., 
384; Renaissance in, 393; Reforma- 
tion and counter-Reformation in, 412; 
essays at political reform in Tuscany, 
495 ; Napoleon's victories in, the Cis- 
alpine Republic, 517 ; the Ligurian 
Republic, 518; consequences of the 
battle of Marengo in, 520; Napoleon 
k. of Italy, 524; Genoa annexed to 
France, 524 ; how disposed of at the 
congress of Vienna, 535 ; literature in 
(1789-1815), 543; absolutism in, 553; 
revolts in (1831), 558; Austro-Sar- 
dinian war (1848), 569 ; war of France 
and Sardinia against Austria (1859), 
572 ; annexation of Naples and Sicily, 
Garibaldi, 574 ; anne.xation of Venice, 
579 ; Rome made the capital, 584. 
(See Venice, Florence, Piedmont, etc.) 

Iturbide, 551. 

Ivan, czar of Russia, I., 349; III. (the 
Great), 349, 381; IV. (the Terrible), 
381, 382; v., 470. 

lydmitsu, 449. 

lyeyasu, 449. 

Jackson, Gen. A., 541, 542, 601 seq.; 

presidency of, 603. 
Jackson, " Stonewall," 608. 
Jackson, Dr. Charles, 634. 
" Jack Straw," 324. 
Jacob, 56. 
Jacobi, 642. 
Jacobins, 503; the Jacobin revolution, 

509; Jacobin chiefs, 512. 
Jacobs, F., 643. 
Jacquerie, revolt of the, 320. 



INDEX. 



671 



James I., the conqueror, k. of Aragon, 
320, 341. 

James, disciple of Christ, 171. 

James, k. of England, I., 432 ; his foreign 
policy, 435; II., 439, 459. 460; his ar- 
bitrary government, 461 ; his expulsion 
from the throne, 461, 

James, k. of Scotland, IV., 386 ; V., 431 ; 
VI. (I. of England), 432. 

James, G. P. R., 638. 

James, H., 641. 

Jameson raid, 626. 

Jane of Montfort, 319. 

Jane of Penthievre, 319. 

Jansenism, 455. 

Janssen, 642. 

Janus, 133. 

Japan, 25 ; religion of, 25 • Japanese race, 
25 ; changes in government, 357 ; civil 
war, feudalism, 357, 449; Christianity 
in, 449; Mikado regains power, 617; 
relation to foreign nations, 617 ; war 
with China, 627. 

Jason, 82. 

Jassy, treaty of, 479. 

Jay, John, 537 ; his treaty, 537. 

Jefferson, Thomas, pres. of the U. S., 
487, 536, 538 seq. 

Jehoshaphat, k. of Judab, 61. 

Jehu, k. of Israel, 61. 
[emmappes, battle of, 507. 

fena, battle of, 526. 

Jenner, 546. 

Jephtha, 58. 

feremiah, 50, 62. 

Jeroboam, k. of Israel, I., 60, 61; II., 
61. 

Jerome, St., 192. 

Jerome of Prague, 334. 

Jerusalem, captured by Pompeius, 160; 
siege of, by Titus, 180; destruction of, 
182 ; falls into the hands of the Sara- 
cens, 227 ; pilgrims in, 271; taken by 
storm by the Crusaders, 273. 

Jesuits, order founded, 413; their influ- 
ence, 414; missions in China, 449, 
494 ; abolished, 495 ; restored, 495. 

Jevons, 637. 

Jews, their dispersion, 170; Jewish war, 
180; revolt of Barcochebas, 182; breach 
with Mohammed, 225 ; under Edward 
I., 316 ; prejudice against, in the middle 
ages, 316. 

Jezebel, 61. 

Jimmu Tenno, Japanese hero, 25. 

lingu-Koga, Japanese princess, 25. 

Joan I., II., 338. 

Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand of Ara- 
gon, 371. 

Jocaste, 81. 

John II., k. of Aragon, 342. 

John of Austria, Don, 417. 

John of Austria, 567. 



John Bahol, 315. 

John, k. of Bohemia, 332, 333, 336. 

John II., k. of Castile, 342. 

John of Damascus, 222, 223. 

John, the apostle, 171. 

John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, 
326. 

John Frederic, elector of Saxony, 409. 

John II. (le Bon), k. of France, 320,321. 

John of Gaunt, 323, 324. 

John (Zimisces), Greek emp., I., 270; 
VII., 352. 

John (Visconti), apb. of Milan, 338. 

John, k. of Portugal, I., 344; II., 388; 
VI., 552. 

John XII., pope, 262; XXII., 332. 

John, k. of England, 294, 295 ; his tyr- 
anny, 296 ; quarrel with the Pope, 296 ; 
Magna Charta, 296; deposidon, 297. 

Johnson, Andrew, pres. of the U. S., 611. 

Johnson, Samuel, 492. 

Johnston, Gen. A. S., 608. 

Johnston, Gen. J. E., 601. 

Johnston, Sir William, 482. 

Jonathan, 59. 

Jones, Paul, 488. 

Jones, Richard, 637. 

Jonson, Ben, 448. 

Joram, k. of Israel, 61. 

Joseph, 56. 

Joseph, emp. H.R.E., I., 466; II., 478,495. 

Joseph Emanuel, k. of Portugal, 495. 

Josephus, Jewish historian, 180. 

Joshua, 58. 

Josiah, k. of Judah, 62. 

JothSm, k. of Judah, 62. 

Jouffroy, 636. 

Joule, 635. 

Jourdan, 510, 531. 

Jovian, Roman emp., 196. 

Juarez, 614. 

Judaea, entered by Pompeius, 160. 

Judas Iscariot, 171. 

"Judges, era of the, 57, 58. 

Jugurtha, 154, 155. 

Jugurthine war, 154. 

Julia (daughter of Augustus), 176. 

Julian, Roman emp., 194. 

Julius II., pope, 372, 384. 

Juno, 132. 

Jupiter, 126, 132. 

Jusdn, Greek emp., I., persecution of 
the Arians, 212; II., 221. 

Justinian, Grecian emp., I., 193,218; war 
with Persia under, 219 ; his conquests 
in Africa, 219 ; his death, 220 ; 11, , 222. 

Jutes, 215. 

Kalb, Baron de, 488. 

Kameel, 281. 

Kane, 632. 

Kansas, troubles in, 605. 

Kant, 545, 642. 



6/2 



INDEX. 



Karl the Great, see Charlemagne. 

Kaulbach, Von, 644. 

Keats, 544. 

Keble, John, 639. 

Keller, 642. 

Kensett, 645. 

Kent, James, 641. 

Kentucky, 538. 

Kepler, 446. 

Khadija, 224. 

Khartoum, 596, 597. 

Khyber Pass, battle of, 560. 

King George's war, 481. 

King William's war, 480. 

Kingsley, Charles, 639. 

Kipling, R., 639. 

Kirchhoff, 634. 

Kitchener, Lord, 625, 627. 

Kleber, 518. 

Klopstock, 491. 

Knights Templar, 274 ; their suppression, 

314. 317- 
Knox, John, 431. 
Knut, see Canute. 
Komaroff, 595. 
Koran, the, 226. 
Koreishites, 224, 225. 
Korner, 545. 

Kosova, first battle of, 351 ; second, 353. 
Kossuth, Louis, 558, 567. 
Kraft, Adam, 393. 
Krasnovodsk, 595. 
Kublai Khan, 356. 
Kunersdorf, battle of, 477. 
Kutab-ud-din, 358. 
Kutusoff, 530. • 

Labienus, T., 164. 

La Bruy^re, 490. 

Lachmann, 643. 

La Chine, massacre of, 481. 

Ladislaus L, k. of Hungary, 350. 

Ladislaus Posthumus, 351. 

La Fayette, in America, 487 ; commander 
of the National Guard, 501 ; protects 
Louis XVL at Versailles, 502; at the 
FSte of the Federation, 503, 506; a 
prisoner of the Austrians, 507 ; requires 
the abdication of Napoleon, 534 ; his 
part in the revolution of 1830, 556. 

La Fontaine, 490. 

Lagrange, 635. 

La Haye Sainte, 533. 

La Hogue, battle of, 463. 

Lai us, 81. 

Lamarck, 546. 

Lamartine, 565, 643. 

Lamb, Charles, 544. 

Lambert Simnel, 370. 

Lamorici^re, 570. 

Lancaster, the House of, in the wars of 
the Roses, 368. 

Lander, John, 632 ; Richard, 632. 



Lander, W. S., 544. 

Landseer, 644. 

Lanfranc, 269. 

Lanfrey, 643. 

Lange, 637. 

Langland, William, 325. 

Langton, Stephen, 296. 

Language, evidence from, 10; divisions 
of, 10. 

Laou-tsze, 22. 

Laplace, 635. 

Lardner, 493. 

La Renaudie, 419. 

La Salle, 480. 

Lasalle, Ferdinand, 589, 

Lassen, 643. 

Latimer, 407. 

Latin Empire in the East, 279. 

Latins, 125 ; conquest of the, 138 ; Latin 
franchise, 142, 352. 

La Tremoille, 384. 

Laud, abp. William, 436. 

Laurens, Jean-Paul, 644. 

La Vendee, war of, 509. 

Lavisse, 643. 

Lavoisier, 493, 546. 

Law's bank, 467. 

Lawrence, Sir Henry, 651. 

Lawrence, Sir T., 545. 

Lawrence, W. B., 641. 

Layard, 586. 

League of the Public Weal, 365, 366. 

Lecky, 638. 

Ledru-Rollin, 570. 

Lee, Gen. Robert E., 608 seq., 612. 

Legnano, battle of, 277. 

Leibnitz, 491. 

Leicester, earl of, see Dudley, Robert. 

Leighton, 644. 

Leipsic, battle of, 531. 

Leipsic, disputation at, 398. 

Lemaitre, 643. 

Lenau, 642. 

Lenbach, 644. 

Leo L (the Great), bp. of Rome, 210, 
211, 216; VHL, 262; X., pope, 386, 
398 seq. ; XHL, 592. 

Leo HL, the Isaurian, 222, 237. 

Leonardo da Vinci, 394. 

Leonidas, k. of Sparta, 95. 

Leopold, margrave of Austria, 275. 

Leopold L, k. of the Belgians, 557, 614. 

Leopold, emp. H.R.E.,457; II. ,495, 505. 

Lepanto, battle of, 420. 

Lepidus, M. ^milius (triumvir), gov- 
ernor of Transalpine Gaul, 167; ruler 
of Africa, 167. 

Leslie, C. R., 644. 

Leslie, T. E. C, 637. 

Lessing, G. E., 491, 642. 

Lessing, K. F., 644. 

Leucopetra, battle of, 151. 

Leiithen, battle of, 477. 



INDEX. 



673 



Leverrier, 635. 

Lewes, battle of, 300. 

Lewes, Mrs. (George Eliot), 639. 

Lexington, battle of, 486. 

Lhermitte, 644. 

Liberman, 644. 

Licinian laws, 137. 

Lieber, Francis, 641. 

Liebig, 635. 

Liegnitz, battle of, 477. 

Ligny, battle of, 533. 

Ligurian republic, 518. 

Ligurians, 124. 

Limoges, sack of, 323. 

Lincoln, Abraham, pres. of the U. S., 

606 seq. ; murder of, 610. 
Linnaeus, 493. 
Lipsius, 642. 
List, 637. 
Lithuanians, 347. 
Liutprand, 221. 
Livingstone, 632. 
Livy, 169. 

Llywelyn, pr. of Wales, 315. 
Lobkowitz, 457. 
Lockyer, 635. 
Lollards, 324, 325. 
Lombard League, 277. 
Lombards, 201, 202, 213; in Italy, 220 

seq. ; their kingdom subverted by 

Charlemagne, 236. 
London Company, 442. 
London, great plague in, 459; great fire 

in, 459- 

Longfellow, 640. 

Longjumeau, peace of, 420. 

Lope de Vega, 447. 

Lorraine, Claude, 394. 

Lothar, emp., 241, 242. 

Lothar, emp. H. R. E., 268. 

Lothar, son of Hugh of Provence, k. of 
Italy, 262. 

Lotze, Hermann, 637. 

Louis IV. (d'Outre Mer), k. of France, 
243, 261; v., 243; VI. (the Fat), 290, 
294; VII., 276, 291, 294; VIII., 297, 
300; IX., 284,297, 298; X.,315; XL, 
his character, 364; strife with the 
nobles, 365 contests with Charles the 
Bold, 365, 366; last days, 367; XII., 
368, 384; first, second, and third Ital- 
ian war of, 384; XI II. ,427; XIV., 452; 
wars, 453 seq. ; aggressions of, 457, 463, 
465; last days, 466; XV., 467; XVI., 
499 seq. ; his flight, 503 ; the Assembly, 
504,506; his imprisonment, 506; trial 
and execution, 507; XVIII. , 532, 533, 
550. 

Louis, Duke of Orleans, assassmation of, 
326. 

Louis, the German, k. of the East Franks, 
241. 

Louis the Child, 242, 244. 



Louis, k. of Hungary, 348, 350. 

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, 560, 561 ; 
coup d'etat of, 570 ; as emp., see Napo- 
leon III. 

Louis Napoleon (son of Napoleon III.), 
death, 590. 

Louis Philippe, 554; made king, 556; his 
policy in the East, 560 ; causes of his 
unpopularity, 563; his fall, 564. 

Louis I., the Pious, emp., 241. 

Louis of Bavaria, 332, 333. 

Louis I., k. of Bavaria, 550. 

Louis, prince of Conde, 419 seq. 

Louisburg, capture of, 481. 

Louisiana, 480 ; purchase of, 539 ; ad- 
mitted as a State, 613. 

Louvois, 453 

Lovat, Lord, 469. 

Lowell, J. R., 640. 

Loyola, Ignatius, 413. 

Lucanians, 156. 

Luceres, 127. 

Luchaire, 643. 

Luckner, 506. 

Lucretius, 169. 

Lucullus, L., 160. 

Ludovico il Moro, 374, 383. 

Lundy's Lane, battle of, 542. 

Luneville, peace of, 520. 

Lusitania, conquered by Suevi, 207. 

Lusitanians, 145, 152. 

Luther, Martin, 397; relations with Leo 
X., 398; Diet of Worms, 399; at the 
Wartburg, 400; conference of Mar- 
burg, 402 ; Henry VIII. and, 405; his 
death, 408. 

Ltitzen, battle of, 425. 

Luxemburg, 453. 

Lycurgus, 86, 89. 

Lydia, as one of three principal powers, 
48 ; annexed to Persia, 60. 

Lyell, Sir Charles, 635. 

Lyons, capture of, 510. 

Lysander, 105; his death, 109. 

Macaulay, T. B., 637. 
Maccabees, 120; Judas Maccabaeus, 121. 
Macdonald, Marshall, 519. 
Macdonald, Flora, 470. 
Macdonough, Commodore, 542. 
Macedonia, successors of Alexander in, 

116; Roman province, 151. 
Macedonians, iir. 
Macedonian era, 111-116. 
Macedonian Empire divided, 116, 117. 
Machiavelli, 446. 
Macintosh, 633. 
Mackintosh, Sir James, 646. 
MacMahon, Marshal, 581, 589. 
Macquarie, 598. 
Macrinus, Roman emp., 186. 
Madison, James, pres. of the U. S.,538, 

541- 



674 



INDEX. 



Madrid, peace of, 400. 

Maecenas, 169. 

Magenta, battle of, 573. 

Magi, 65. 

Magna Charta, 296 ; altered under Henry 
III., 300. 

Magnentius, 194. 

Magnesia, battle at, 149. 

Magnus I., k. of Sweden, 346; II. 
(Smek), 346. 

Magnus III., k. of Norway, 346; VI., 
346. 

Magyars, 223. 

Mahan, A. T., 641. 

Mahdi, 625. 

Mahmoud II., 554. 

Mahmud of Ghazim, 358. 

Maine settled, 444 ; admitted as a State, 
613. 

Maine de Biran, 543. 

Maintenon, Madame de, 456. 

Majorian, Roman emp., 211. 

Malakoff, 572. 

Malek Shah, 231, 270. 

Malesherbes, executed, 511. 

Malplaquet, battle of, 466. 

Malta, island of, given to the Hospitallers, 
274; its capture by Napoleon, 518; 
held by the English, 521, 522. 

Malthus, 637. 

Malvern Hill, battle of, 608. 

Mamertines, 143. 

Man, his origin, see Monogenism ; races 
of, 9; Huxley on, 9; A. von Hum- 
boldt on, 9 ; antiquity of, 14. 

Manasseh, tribe of, 58. 

Manasseh, k. of Judah, 50, 62. 

Manchester Economic School, 618. 

Manchu conquest, 449. 

Mandeville, Sir John, 302. 

Manetho, 118. 

Manfred, 282, 335. 

Manin, Daniele, 569. 

Manitoba, 598. 

Manlius, Marcus, 136. 

Manlius, Titus, 138. 

Mantes, burning of, 289. 

Marat, 507, 509 seq. 

Marathon, battle of, 93. 

Marburg, conference at, 402. 

Marcellus, M. Claudius, 148. 

Marchfield, battle of, 332. 

Marcomanni, 181, 183. 

Mardonius, 93. 

Marengo, battle of, 520. 

Margaret of Parma, regent in the Nether- 
lands, 415. 

Maria Louisa of Parma, 558. 

Maria Theresa, empress, 475, 476. 

Maria Theresa, wife of Louis XIV., 452. 

Mariana, 447. 

Marie Antoinette, 499 seq.; execution, 
5"- 



Marignano, battle of, 400. 

Marius, C, 155, 157 ; defeat of the Mari- 
ans, 158. 

Markham, 632. 

Marlborough, duke of, 464; his charac- 
ter, his military career, 465 seq.; de- 
prived of his offices, 466. 

Marmont, 556. 

Marryat, 640. 

Mars, 132. 

Marsh, George P., 641. 

Marsh, James, 637. 

Marshall, John, 538. 

Marston Moor, battle of, 438. 

Martel, Charles, 215, 229, 234. 

Martignac, 555. 

Martin V., pope, 355. 

Martin, Henri, 643. 

Martineau, Harriet, 637. 

Martyr, Justin, 191. 

Marx, Karl, 589. 

Mary of Burgundy, 372. 

Mary (" Bloody Mary "), q. of England, 

430- 

Mary (wife of William III.), q. of Eng- 
land, 461. 

Mary, daughter of Charles the Bold, 367. 

Mary of Medici, 427. 

Mary, q. of Scots, 420, 432 ; her execu- 
tion, 432. 

Maryland founded, 445. 

Marsilius Ficinus, 391. 

Masinissa, k. of Numidia, 148, 150. 

Mason, J. M., 607. 

Mason, Capt. John, 4/^4. 

Massachusetts, settlement of, 443. 

Massena, victory of, at Zurich, 519; con- 
flict with Wellington, 529. 

Massillon, 490. 

Matilda, countess of Tuscany, 267. 

Matilda, wife of Henry I. of England, 
290. 

Matilda, wife of Henry V. of Germany, 
290. 

Matthias Corvinus, k. of Hungary, 371, 

379- 
Maupassant, 643. 

Maurice, duke of Saxony, 409, 410. 
Maurice, Frederick Denison, 640. 
Maximilian I., of Austria, 367 ; emp. 

H. R. E., 372, 383, 384, 398 ; II., 423. 
Maximilian of Bavaria, 566. 
Maximilian, k. of Mexico, 614. 
Maximin, Roman emp., 187. 
Maximus, Roman emp., 205. 
Maxwell, J. Clerk, 635. 
May, 638. 

Mayenne, duke of, 422. 
Mazarin, 452, 456. 
Mazzini, 558, 584. 
McCarthy, Justin, 600. 
McClellan, Gen. G. B., 607, 608. 
McClintock, 632. 



INDEX. 



675 



McCosh, James, 636. 

McCuUoch, J. R.,637. 

McDowell, Gen. I., 608. 

McEntee, 645. 

McKinley, W., president of U. S., 629. 

McKinley Tariff, 612. 

Meade, Gen. G. G., 609. 

Mecca, 224, 225. 

Medea, 82. 

Media, revolt under Phraortes, 47, 66 ; as 

one of three powers, 48. (See Persia). 
Medici, family of, 338; John de, 339; 

Cosmo I. ,339; Peter I., 375; Julian de, 

375 ; Lorenzo de, 375, 376. 
Megacles, 89. 

Mehemet Ali, 553, 554, 560, 561. 
Meissonier, 644. 
Melanchthon, Philip, 398, 402. 
Melas, Austrian general, 520. 
Melicertes, 80. 
Memmius, C, 155. 
Menahem, k. of Israel, 62. 
Mencius, 22. 
Mendelssohn, 645. 
Menelaus, 82. 
Menzel, Ad., 644. 

Mercedes, Maria de la, q. of Spain, 585. 
Mercury, 133. 
Meredith, G., 639. 
Merivale, Charles, 638. 
Merovingians, 214. 
Merv, seized by the Russians, 595. 
Mesopotamia, Roman province, 182. 
Messalina (wife of Claudius), 177. 
Messenia, 87, no. 
Metastasio, 491. 
Metellus, L. Cascilius, 144. 
Metellus (Numanticus), Q. Csecilius, 

154. 155- 

Methodius, 223. 

Metceci, 86. 

Metternich, 549, 554, 566. 

Metz, 429 ; surrender of, 582. 

Mexico, conquest of, by Cortes, 390; in- 
dependence of, 551 ; war with the U.S., 
604 ; French invasion of, 613 ; internal 
improvements, 614. 

Meyer, H. A. W., 643, 

Meyer, L. von, 635. 

Meyerbeer, 645. 

Michael Angelo, 393, 394. 

Michael Romanoff, czar of Russia, 382, 
470. 

Michelet, 643. 

Middle Ages, character of, 198 ; distribu- 
tion of tribes at the close of 5th century, 
213; the Church in the, 216; state of 
learning (375-751 A.D.), 217; state of 
learning in the lolh century, 245 ; the 
papacy in the 9th and loth centuries, 
245; culture in the nth century, 269; 
life in the castle, 285 ; poverty and dis- 
ease, 286 ; rise of the cities, 301 ; origin 



of municipal freedom, 301 ; cities and 
suzerains, 301 ; municipal government, 
302; travelers and trade, 302 ; new in- 
dustries, 303 ; guilds, 304; monasticism, 
304 ; the mendicant orders, 305 ; rise 
of the universities, 305 ; schoHstic the- 
ology, 306; the leading schoolmen, 
306; the vernacular literatures, 306; 
the troubadours, 306; the Norman, 
German, English, and Spanish writers, 
307; painting, 307; sculpture, 308; 
architecture, 308 ; changes in, 353 ; 
clergy and laity, 353. (See names of 
place's and persons, and particular 
events.) 

Miecislas I., leader of the Poles, 347. 

Miesko, 264. 

Mignet, 556, 643. 

Miguel, Don, 552. 

Mikado, 25; 357; triumph of the, 617. 

Milan, 374; destroyed by Frederick Bar- 
barossa, 278 ; under the Visconti and 
Sforza, 338 ; under Francesco Sforza, 
374 ; contest of Charles V. and Francis 
I . respecting, 400 ; ceded to Sardinia, 

573- 
Mill, James, 637. 
Mill, John Stuart, 636, 637. 
Millais, 644. 
Millet, 644. 
Milman, Dean, 638. 
Milo, T. Annius, 164. 
Miltiades, 94. 
Milton, John, 438, 448. 
Mimnermus, go. 
Minerva, 132. 

Ming dynasty in China, 356, 449. 
Minos, 81. 
Mirabeau, 500, 503. 
Missions, 650, 651. 
Mississippi, the River, 440, 480. 
Missouri compromise, 601. 
Mitford, 638. 

Mithra, Persian sun-god, 64. 
Mithridates IV., k. of Pontus, 152. 
Mithridates VI., k. of Pontus, 120, 156, 

157, 160. 
Mithridatic wars, I., 156; II., 160; III., 

166. 
Mitscherlich, 635. 
Mittermaier, 643. 
Moesia, 181, 187, 204. 
Moez, 231. 

Mohacs, battle of, 458. 
Mohammed, 224; his career, 224; the 

flight of (Hegira) , 225 ; his death, 226 ; 

character of, 226; the Koran, 226; 

Mohammedan conquests, 227 seq. 
Mohammed II. (Sultan), 353, 379. 
Mohammed Ghori, 358. 
Mohammed Togluk, 358. 
Mohammedan states and conquests, 227- 

231 ; in India, 357. 



6'j6 



INDEX. 



Mohl, 643. 

Mohler, 643. 

M0I6, Count, 565. 

MoliSre, 490. 

Molo, 159. 

Moloch, Phoenician god, 53, 62. 

Mommsen, 642. 

Moncontour, battle of, 420. 

Mongolian invasions, 283, 351 ; the Mon- 
gols, 349. 

Monk, 458. 

Monmouth, battle of, 488. 

Monmouth's rebellion, 460. 

Monogenism, g, 11 ; since Darwin, 9, 11 ; 
Tylor on, 10 ; Max Miiller on, 11 ; W. 
D. Whitney on, 11. 

Monroe, James, pres. of the U. S., 601; 
Monroe Doctrine, 602 ; parties, 602. 

Montaigne, 447. 

Montassem, 230. 

Montcalm, 482. 

Montecuculi, 457. 

Montesquieu, 491. 

Montezuma, 390. 

Montfort, Simon de, the elder, 297 ; Earl 
of Leicester, 300. 

Montgomery, Gen. R., 487. 

Monti, 543. 

Montijo, Eugenie, 571. 

Moore, T., 544. 

Moors, origin of their race, 228 ; origin 
of their name, 231 ; conquer Spain, 
231 ; great defeat of, 282, 341 ; con- 
quest of Grenada, 370, 371. 

Moraes, Prudente de, 615. 

More, Thomas, 392, 407. 

Moreau, 519, 520, 523. 

Morgarten, battle of, 335. 

Mormons, 612. 

Morse, S. E. B., 633, 645. 

Mortimer, Roger, 317, 325; John, 328. 

Morton, W. T. G., 634. 

Moses, 56, 57. 

Moslems, conquer Africa and Spain, 231 ; 
their government, 231; theology, law, 
literature, 232 ; commerce and the arts, 
232. (See Mohammed;) 

Motley, John Lothrop, 641. 

Mountain, party of the, 504. 

Mowbray, Thomas, 324. 

Mozart, 546. 

Muawwiyah, 228. 

Mughal Empire, 450 ; effect of its fall, 593. 

Miihlberg, battle of, 409. 

Miihldorf, battle of, 332. 

Muller, K. O., 643. 

Miiller, J., 642. 

Mummius, L., 151. 

Munda, battle of, 165. 

Miinzer, Thomas, 401. 

Murad I., sultan of the Turks, 351 ; II., 
252. 

Murat, k. of Naples, 528. 



Murchison, Sir R., 635. 
Murray, Lindley, 544. 
Murray, Earl of, regent, 432. 
Mus, P. Decius, 138, 139. 
Musa, Arab governor, 228. 
Musset, Alfred de, 643. 
Mycale, battle of, 96. 
Mylse, battle at, 144. 
Myron, loi. 
Myronides, 97. 
Mythology, 12. 

Nabonetus, k. of Babylon, 49. 

Nabopolassar, k. of Babylon, 48, 60. 

Najara, battle of, 342. 

Nansen, 632. 

Nantes, Edict of, 422 ; its revocation, 456. 

Napier. J., 493. 

Napier, "Sir W. F. P., 638. 

Naples {^see Sicily), the dominion of 
Charles of Anjou, 282, 335 ; conquered 
by Charles VIII., 383; conquered by 
Ferdinand II. : in the hands of Spain, 
384; acquired by Austria, 466; ceded 
to Spain, 467; the Parthenopasan re- 
public, 519; Joseph Bonaparte, king 
of, 525 ; the Bourbons restored, 535 ; 
rebellion of soldiers, Ferdinand IV., 
553; insurrection in, 568 ; under Ferdi- 
nand II. (Bomba), 569; conquered by 
Garibaldi, and annexed to Italy, 574. 

Napoleon I., 510; in Italy, 516; Egyptian 
expedition, 518 ; reverses in Italy, 518 ; 
consulate, 519; reforms of, 521; the 
empire, 523 ; power of, 527 ; elements 
of weakness in his empire, 527 ; his 
divorce and second marriage, 529 ; re- 
action against, 529 ; fall of, 531 ; return 
from Elba, 533; battle of Waterloo, 
533; abdication of, 534; character, 534, 
550 ; entombment of, in Paris, 561. 

Napoleon III., emp. of the French, 570; 
the Crimean war, 571 ; war with Aus- 
tria, 572; baffled by Prussia, 580; 
Franco-Prussian war, 580 seq., 591. 
(See Louis Napoleon Bonaparte.) 

Napoleon, Jerome, 590. 

Narses, 220, 221. 

Narvaez, P. de, 441. 

Narvaez, Gen., duke of Valencia, 564. 

Naseby, battle of, 438. 

Nashville, battle of, 609. 

Nasmyth, 633. 

Nations, constitudon of, 2 ; earliest group 
of. 17. 33 ; growing unity of, 647. 

Navarino, battle of, 554. 

Navarre, under Sancho the Great, 282, 
320 ; united with Aragon and Castile, 

341- 
Navigation Act, 440. 
Neander, 642. 
Nearchus, 115. 
Nebraska, a territory, 605 ; a state, 613. 



INDEX. 



677 



Nebuchadnezzar, k. of Babylon, 42, 48, 
49, 62. 

Necho, k. of Egypt, 48, 62. 

Necker, 500, 501. 

Nehemiah, 62. 

Neku II., see Necho. 

Nelson, 524, 525. 

Nepos, Cornelius, 169. 

Neptune, see Poseidon. 

Nero, L. Domilius, emp. of Rome, 177 ; 
persecutes the Christians, 178 ; his 
death, 179. 

Nerva, Roman emp., 181. 

Nestorius, 217. 

Netherlands, under Burgundian rule, 
364; under Charles V., 399; revolt of 
the, 415; Alva's rule, 416 ; the Utrecht 
Union, 416 ; attack of Louis XIV., 453. 
(See Holland, Belgium.) 

Neustria, 214. 

Newcomb, 635. 

New England, settlement of, 443 ; during 
the civil war in England, 445 ; in the 
war of 1812-15, 542. 

Newfoundland, 441, 598. 

New Hampshire settled, 444. 

New Jersey, settlement of, 480. 

Newman, John Henry, 639. 

Newton, H. A., 635. 

Nevtton, Sir Isaac, 446, 492. 

New York, English and Dutch in, 445. 

New Zealand, 599. 

Ney, 533, 534. 

Nicaea, council of, 192. 

Nicsea, Greek empire of, 279. 

Nicephorus I., Greek emp., 230. 

Nicephorus, Phocas, Greek emp., 270. 

Nicholas I., pope, 246. 

Nicholas I., czar of Russia, 554. 

Nicholas II., czar of Russia, 587. 

Nicholas V., pope, 337, 339. 

Nicias, 102-104. 

Nicole, 455. 

Nicopolis, battle of, 351. 

Niebuhr, 642. 

Niepce, 634. 

Nightingale, Florence, 645. 

Nile, battle of the, 518. 

Nimrod, 44. 

Nimwegen, treaty of, 453. 

Nineteenth century, geographical discov- 
eries in, 631 ; four inventions, 632 ; uses 
of steam, 633 ; tools and machines, 633 ; 
India rubber, 633 ; enginery of war, 
634; telescope and microscope, 634; in- 
struments in medicine and surgery, 634 ; 
spectroscope, 634 ; photography, 634 ; 
conservation of energy, 635; geology 
and paleontology, 635 ; astronomy, 635 ; 
progress in chemistry, 635 ; biology, 
636 ; archaeology, 636 ; philosophy 
and literature, 636 seg.; architecture, 
644 ; sculpture and painting, 644 ; so- 



cial science, 645 ; mitigation of the 
sufferings of war, 645 ; public educa- 
tion, 646 ; reform of criminal law, 646 ; 
prison-discipline reform, 647; indus- 
trial exhibitions, 648 ; economical 
enlightenment, 648 ; conimunity in 
science and letters, 648 ; widened po- 
litical system, 649 ; international phi- 
lanthropy, 649 ; Christian missions, 
649 ; results of missions, 650. 

Nineveh, capital of Assyria, 45. 

Ninus, 46. 

Nitzsch, 642. 

Noailies, Vicomte de, 501. 

Nola, battle of, 148. 

Nordlingen, battle of, 428. 

Noricum, 212. 

North, Christopher, 638. 

Normans, conquest of England, 250; 
effect of the conquest, 251 ; their spirit 
and influence, 251 ; government, 252; 
mingling of blood and language, 252; 
their buildings, 253 ; in Italy and Sicily, 
253 ; their traits, 254, 255 seq. ; Nor- 
man writers, 307. 

North German confederation, 579. 

North, Lord, 489. 

Northern war, 470 seq. 

Northmen, invasions of, 246 seq,; in 
England and Italy, 249, 349. 

Norton, Andrews, 642. 

Norway, conversion of, 345 ; early his- 
tory, 345, 346 ; after the union of Cal- 
mar, 347; war with Sweden, 518; union 
with Sweden, 535. 

Noureddin, 276. 

Novara, battles of, 384, 569. 

Nova Scotia, 441. 

Novi, French defeated at, 519. 

Numantian war, 152. 

Numerianus, Roman emp., 187. 

Nuremberg, peace of, 402, 408. 

Nystadt, peace of, 472. 

Gates, Titus, 460. 

Ocho, k. of Persia, 54. 

O'Connell, 558, 599. 

Octavia (wife of Nero), 177. 

Octavianus, C. Julius Caesar, defeats J. 
Brutus and Cassius, 167 ; receives the 
West, 167; war with M. Antonius, 
167 ; receives the name of Augustus, 
167. (See Augustus.) 

Odense, diet of, 404. 

Odin, see Woden. 

Odoacer, ruler of Italy, 196 ; overthrown 
by Theodoric, 211, 212. 

Odysseus, 82. 

Oidipus, 81. 

Oersted, 633. 

Oglethorpe, James, 480. 

Ohud, battle of, 225. 

Ojin, Japanese warrior, 25. 



6/8 



INDEX. 



Olaf the Thick, k. of Norway, 240. 

Olaf, k. of Norway and Denmark, 345. 

Olaf Schooskonig, k. of Sweden, 240. 

Oldcastle, Sir John, 325. 

Olivier le Daim, 365. 

Olympic deities, 81. 

Olympus, 90. 

Omar, 227, 228. 

Ommiads, 224, 228, 229, 231. 

Origen, 191. 

Orleans, besieged by Attila, 209; Maid 
of, 327. 

Orleans, House of, struggle with Bur- 
gundy, 326 ; on the throne of France, 
556 ; its princes retire from the army, 
590. 

Ormuzd, Persian god, 64, 65. 

Orsini, 573. 

Oscans, 125. 

Osman, 351. 

Osman Digna, 596. 

Ostrolenka, battle of, 557. 

Ostrogoths, see East Goths. 

Othman, 228. 

Otho, Roman emp., 179, 180. 

Otis, James, 485. 

Otranto. battle of, 374, 378. 

Otto I. (the Great) , emp. of the H. R. E., 
245, 261 ; and the palsgraves, 261 ; his 
wars, 261 ; in Italy, 261; II., 263; III., 
263 ; IV., 280, 297. 

Ottocar II., k. of Bohemia, 332, 350. 

Ottoman Empire, state of (in 1875), S^S- 
(See Turks and Turkey.) 

Oudenarde, battle of, 465. 

Oudinot, 569. 

Ourique, battle of, 343. 

Overbeck, 644. 

Owen, Richard, 636. 

Owen, Robert, 588. 

Pacific Ocean discovered, 389. 

Page, 645. 

Pakenham, Gen., 542. 

Palasologus, Michael, 279. 

Palestine, 120; the Maccabees, 120; the 

Idumasan princes, 120; wrested by 

the Arabs from Greek empire, 227. 

(See Hebrews.) 
Paley, William, 493. 
Palfrey, John G., 641. 
Pallavicini, 447, 575. 
Palmerston, Lord, 564, 594. 
Palmyra, 187. 
Panastius, 151. 

Panama Land Company in France, 621. 
Pandulph, 296. 
Paniput, battle of, 450. 
Pannonia, 212, 220, 223. 
Panormus, battle of, 144. 
Paoli, 511. 
Papacy, the Roman See in early ages, 

191; Leo the Great, 216; under the 



Eastern Empire, 217; controversy on 
image-worship, 223 ; relation to Char- 
lemagne, 236 seq. ; in the 9th and 
loth centuries, 245 ; relation to the 
Holy Roman Empire, 262; Hilde- 
brand, 265 seq.; Concordat of Worms, 
268 ; relation to the Crusades, 272, 309 ; 
relation to the Guelfs, 276; Alexander 
III., 277; Innocent III., 278 ; Gregory 
IX., Frederick II., 281; Boniface VIII., 
Philip IV., 312; in the 13th cen- 
tury, 354 ; " the Babylonian captivity," 
314, 354; period of the Great Schism, 
339, 354 ; the reforming councils, 354 ; 
in the 15th century, 377 ; the League 
of Cambray, Julius II., 384; Leo X. 
and the Reformation, 398 ; Adrian VI., 
Clement VII., 401 ; breach with Henry 
VIII., 406; breach with Charles V., 
Council of Trent, 409; the Catholic 
reaction, Paul IV., 413; Joseph II. 
and the, 496; cessions of territory to 
France, 517; Roman republic pro- 
claimed by the French, 519; Pius VII., 
a prisoner of the French, 529; his 
controversies with Napoleon, 533; 
restoration of the Papal States, 536; 
Pius IX., republic in Rome, 569; 
French occupation of Rome, 569 ; an- 
nexing of Rome to Italy, 584 ; Council 
of the Vatican, 584; conflict with 
Prussia, 591; Leo XIII., 592. (See 
Papal Principality.) 

Papal Principality, founded, 235; Inno- 
cent III., its second founder, 279; 
cessions to France (1797), 517 ; turned 
into the Roman republic (1798), 518; 
annexed to France (1809), 528; re- 
stored to the popes, 535 ; republic in 
Rome, 569; Romagna annexed to 
Sardinia, 574; Rome incorporated in 
the Italian kingdom, 584. 

Paracelsus, 447. 

Paris, Matthew, 307. 

Paris, seat of authority under Clovis, 213 ; 
capital of the dukes of France, 243 ; 
siege of the Northmen, 243; insurrec- 
tion in, 320, 321 ; siege of, in 1870, 
582; surrender of, 582; communists, 
583. (See France.) 

Paris, treaties of, 478, 483, 532, 572. 

Paris, son of Priam, 82. 

Park, Mungo, 632. 

Parker, Theodore, 642. 

Parkman, Francis, 641. 

Parliaments in England, rise of, 215, 252; 
under Simon de Montfort, 300; under 
Edward I., 316; long parliament, 437; 
the Reform Bill, 559. 

Parliaments in France, 299. 

Parmenides, 91. 

Parmenio, 115. 

Parnell, 600. 



INDEX. 



679 



Parrhasius, 102. 

Parry, 632. 

Parthenon, 98, loi. 

Parthenopasan republic, 519. 

Parthia, 120; war with Trajan, 183. 

Particularists, in Germany, 592. 

Pascal, Blaise, 455, 490. 

Paschal II., pope, 268 ; III., 277. 

Paskievitch, 557. 

Pastor, 642. 

Patkul, 470. 

Patrick, his labors in Ireland, 216. 

Paul the apostle, 172. 

Paul I., emp. of Russia, 519, 524. 

Paul II., pope, 378; III., 413; IV., 413, 

414. 430- 
Paulding, J. K., 641. 
Paulinus, Suetonius, 179. 
Paulus, L. ^Emilius, 147 ; Younger, 149. 
Pausanius, k. of Sparta, 96, 106. 
Peale, 645. 
Peary, Lieut., 632. 
Peasant insurrection in England, 344; 

in Germany, 401. 
Pedro de la Gasca, 391. 
Pedro, of Brazil, 553, 615 ; II., 615. 
Peel, Sir Robert, 558, 560. 
Peirce, Professor B., 635. 
Peixoto, pres. Brazil, 615. 
Pelagius, 192. 
Pelopidas, no. 
Peloponnesian war, 102-106. 
Pennsylvania, settlement of, 480. 
Pepys, diary of, 459. 
Pequot war, 446. 
Percy, family of, 325. 
Percy, Harry (Hotspur), 325. 
Perdiccas, 116. 

Pergamon, founding of, 120; 149; 152. 
Periander, tyrant of Corinth, 89. 
Pericles, peace of, 97 ; age of, 97 ; speech 

of, 98 ; his death, 103. 
P6rier, Casimir, 556, 560. 
Perkin Warbeck, 370. 
Perry, A. L., 637. 
Perry, Commodore O. H., 541. 
Perry, Commodore M. C, 617. 
Perseus, k. of Macedonia, 149. 
Persia, religion of, 64; geography, 64; 

religious customs, 65 ; early history 
■ of, 66 ; conquests of Cambyses and 

Darius, 67, 68 ; government, 68 ; army 

and navy, 69 ; literature and art, 69 ; 

wars with Greece, 93, 96; relations 

with Greece, 109 ; wars with Rome, 

219 ; with Arabia, 227. 
Pertinax, Roman emp., 186. 
Peru, conquest of, 390; war with Chili, 

615. 
Peter III., k. of Aragon, and I. of Sicily, 

282, 341 ; IV., 343. 
Peter the Cruel, k. of Castile, 322, 342. 
Peter, apostle of Christ, 171. 



Peter Damiani, bp. of Ostia, 265. 

Peter the Great, czar of Russia, 470; 
III., 477- 

Peter the Hermit, 272. 

Peter I., k. of Portugal, 344. 

Potion, 504. 

Petition of Right, 436. 

Petrarch, 339. 

Petronius Maximus, Roman emp., 210. 

Phaedrus, 169. 

Pharisees, 120, 171. 

Pharnaces, 165. 

Pharsalus, battle of, 165. 

Phidias, 98, loi. 

Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, 322; 
the Good, 364, 365. 

Philip of Navarre, 320. 

Philip II. (Augustus), k. of France, 278, 
294, 297; III., 309; IV., 312; his war 
with Boniface VIII., 312 seq., 332; his 
sons, 315; v., 315; VI., 317. 

Philip, ic. of Macedonia, in, 112; III., 
alliance with Hannibal, 147 ; 148 ; 149, 

Philip, Roman emp., 187. 

Philip de Commines, 366. 

Philip, duke of Orleans, 467. 

Phihp, emp. H. R. E., 280. 

Philip II., k. of Spain, his character, 
414; tyranny, 415; Alva's rule, 416; 
Utrecht union, 416; 420; the Spanish 
Arm.ada, 433 ; V., 464. 

Philip, landgrave of Hesse, 408, 409. 

Philippides, 93. 

Phillips, Wendell, 604. 

Philology, comparative, as a source of 
history, 6. 

Philotas, 115. 

Phocas, Greek emp., 222. 

Phocion, 119. 

Phoebidas, no. 

Phoenicia, physical geography, 51 ; his- 
torical events, 53 ; early tribes, 54. 

Phoenicians, 51 ; commerce and pros- 
perity of, 51 ; colonies, 51 ; opulence, 
51 ; religion and letters, 53. 

Phraortes, k. of Media, 66. 

Phrygia, 152. 

Physical geography, 7, 8. 

Pichegru, 518. 

Pico de Mirandola, 392. 

Picts, invasions into Britain, 215. 

Piedmont (j^? Italy, Rome), conquered by 
Rome, 14S ; under the Ostrogoths, 212 ; 
under the Lombards, 220 ; under Char- 
lemagne, 236; anarchy in, 244, 261; 
Berengar (II.) of Ivrea, conquered by 
Otto I., 262; Lombard League, 276; 
distinct states in, 335 seq., 274 \ under 
the dukes of Savoy who became kings 
of Sardinia, 466; Cisalpine republic, 
517; annexed to France, 522; under 
Napoleon, king of Italy, 524; House 
of Savoy restored in Sardinia (and 



68o 



INDEX. 



Genoa) , Lombardo-Venetian kingdom 
ceded to Austria (1815), 535; revolts, 
abdication of Victor Emmanuel I., 553 ; 
under Charles Albert, 558 ; Austro-Sar- 
dinian war (1S48) , 569 ; war of France 
and Sardinia against Austria, annexing 
of Lombardy, 572, 573; annexing of 
Tuscany, etc., cession of Savoy and 
Nice to France, 574 ; annexing of Na- 
ples and Sicily, 574; of Venice, 579; 
Rome, the capital, 584. 

Pierce, Franklin, pres. of the U. S., 605. 

Pilate, Pontius, 171. 

Pilgrims in Jerusalem, 271. 

Pilgrims, their settlements, 443. 

Pilnitz, declaration of, 505. 

Pinckney, 538. 

Pindar, 90, 113. 

Pindemonte, 543. 

Pinkie, battle of, 430. 

Pipin, family of, 214. 

Pipin of Heristal, 214. 

Pipin, son of Louis the Pious, 241. 

Pipin the Short, k. of the Franks, 215, 
234; in Italy, 234; his death, 235. 

Pirates, war of the Romans against, 159. 

Pisa, council of, 354. 

Pisistratids, 89. 

Pisistratus, 89. 

Pitt, William, earl of Chatham, 482, 485. 

Pitt, William (the Younger), 508, 521, 
592. 

Pittacus, tyrant of Lesbos, 89. 

Pius IL, pope, 364, 374, 376; v., 432; 
Vn., 523, 528; IX., 568, 584. 

Placidia, 208. 

Plague in London, Great, 459. 

Plataea, battle of, 96. 

Plato, 107. 

Plautus, 151. 

Pliny (the Elder), 184. 

Pliny (the Younger), friend of Trajan, 
182, 184. 

Plutarch, 185. 

Plymouth Company, 442. 

Plymouth, Pilgrim settlement at, 443. 

Pocahontas, 443. 

Podiebrad, k. of Bohemia, 370. 

Poe, Edgar Allan, 640. 

Poitiers, battles of (Charles Martel), 
227, 320. 

Poland, 347 ; the Poles, 347 ; constitution 
of, 347, 349; condition of (1700), 471; 
partition of, 479, 557. 

Polignac, Prince, 555. 

Politian, 392. 

Politiques, 421. 

Pollock, Gen., 594. 

Polo, Marco, 302, 356. 

Polybius, 121, 149, 151. 

Polycarp, 190. 

Polycletus, loi. 

Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, 89. 



Polygnotus, 102. 

Polynices, 82. 

Pombal, 495. 

Pompeii destroyed, 181. 

Pompeius, Cneius (Magnus), 121; joins 
Sulla, 157 ; war with Sertorius, 158 ; 
gladiatorial war, 159 ; war with the pi- 
rates, 159; in the East, 160 ; first trium- 
virate, 162 ; Pompeius and Caesar, 164 ; 
second triumvirate, 164; retires to the 
East, 164; defeat and death of, 165. 

Poniatowski, 479. 

Pontiac, conspiracy of, 483. 

Pontius, Samnite general, 139. 

Pontus, a Roman province, 160. 

Poor-law in England, 559. 

Pope, A., 543. 

Pope, Gen., 608. 

Popes in the 13th century, 354; in the 
15th century, 376-378. (See the names 
severally, and Papacy.) 

Popham Colony, 443. 

Popilius Lasnas, C, 149. 

Popish Plot, 460. 

Poppasa Sabina, 177. 

Port Hudson, capture of, 609. 

Porto Bello, taking of, 469. 

Port Royal captured, 481. 

Portugal, historical geography of, 340; 
a kingdom, 341 ; voyages and discov- 
eries, 388; essays at reform in, 495; 
invasion by Napoleon, 528 ; Welling- 
ton in, 528 ; after 1815, 552. 

Porus, Indian prince, 115. 

Poseidon, 80. 

Postumius, 139. 

Pott, 643. 

Powers, 644. 

Powhatan, 443, 

Pragmatic sanction, 355 ; 474. 

Prague, peace of, 579. 

Praxiteles, 102. 

Pre-historic relics, 13. 

Pre-historic times, 13 ; division of, 13. 

Presburg, diet of (1687), 458; diet of, 
476; peace of (1805), 525. 

Prescott, William H., 641. 

Preston Pans, battle of, 439. 

Pride, Col., 439. 

Printing, 387. 

Probus, Roman emperor, 187. 

Procopius, 223. 

Propertius, 169. 

Propylasa, 98. 

Proudhon, 588. 

Provence, 212 ; united to France, 367. 

Prusias, k. of Bithynia, 149. 

Prussia, 347; Western part annexed to 
Poland, 372 ; beginning of the kingdom 
of, 474 ; growth of its power, 474 seq. ; 
joins Austria in war against France, 
506; conquered by Napoleon, 525; 
war of liberation, 531 ; Austro-Prussian 



INDEX. 



68 1 



war, 575 seq. ; the Franco-Prussian war, 

580 seg. ; war with Austria, 575, 578 ; 

conflict of Prussia and the Vatican, 

591. (See Brandenburg.) 
Psamineticus I., k. of Egypt, 42, 48 ; III., 

42. 
Ptolemies, ks. of Egypt, I. (Lagi), 117; 

II. (Pliiladelphus), 118; III. (Euer- 

getes), 118; IV. (Philopator), 118; VI. 

(Philometor), 118. 
Ptolemy Ceraunus, k. of Macedonia, 119. 
Public Safety, committee of, in Paris, 

509. 512. 
Pufendorf, 446. 

Pulcheria, sister of Theodosius II., 217. 
Pultowa, battle of, 472. 
Punic wars, 143-150. 
Puritans, 434; in New England, 443. 
Pusey, Dr. E., 639. 
Putnam, Israel, 487. 
Pydna, battle of, 149. 
Pym, John, 437. 
Pyrrhus, war with, 139; events of the 

war, 140, 141. 
Pyrrhus, k. of Epirus, 55. 
Pythagoras, 91. 

QUADI, 183. 

Quadra, 598. 

Quadruple Alliance, 561. 

Quakers, 494. 

Quafre Bras, battle of, 533. 

Quebec, capture of by Wolfe, 482. • 

Queen Anne's war, 481. 

Quintus Fabius, 145. 

Rabelais, 448. 

Rachis, 221. 

Racine, 490. 

Radagaisus, 206. 

Radetzky, 569. 

Raglan, 572. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 7, 435, 442. 

Rambouillet, Madame de, 448. 

Ramnes, 127. 

Ramsay, 638. 

Ramses II. (the Great), k. of Egypt, 40, 
41. 

Ranke, 642. 

Raphael, 394, 644. 

Ratisbon, alliance made at, 401 ; diet of, 
408. 

Rauch, 545. 

Raumer, 642. 

Ravaillac, 422. 

Ravenna, 206 ; 212 ; 219, 220, 235. 

Raymond, count of Toulouse, 273 ; VI., 
297; VII., 298. 

Reade, Charles, 639. 

Reformation, era of the, 396; beginning 
of the, 397 ; Luther, 398 ; diet of 
Worms, 399; progress and reaction, 
401 ; peace of Nuremberg, 402 ; Swiss, 



403; in Denmark, 404; in Sweden, 
404 ; England, 405 ; the parties in Ger- 
many, 408; peace of Augsburg, 410; 
Catholic counter-reformation, 411; 
second stage of, in England, 429. 

Regulus, M. Atilius, 144. 

Rehoboam, k. of Judah, 60. 

Reid, 492, 636. 

Religious peace (in Germany, 1555), 410. 

Rembrandt, 394, 

Remigius, abp. of Rheims, 213. 

Renaissance, 387 seq. ; revival of learn- 
ing, 391 ; contest of the new and old 
culture, 392 ; art, 393 ; architecture and 
sculpture, 393 ; painting in Italy, 394 ; 
in the Netherlands, 394; in Germany 
and France, 394 ; music, 395. 

Ren an, 643. 

Republican party (the earlier) , 536 ; (the 
later) , 602. 

Requesens, 416. 

Reuchlin, John, 392. 

Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 545. 

Rhine, confederation of the, 525. 

Rhine, league of the, 331. 

Rhode Island, settled, 444. 

Rhodes, Cecil, 626. 

Rhodes, J. F., 641. 

Rhodes, war with Antiochus III,, 149. 

Rhoetia, 212. 

Ricardo, 637. 

Ricci, Matteo, 449. 

Richard I. (Coeur-de-Lion), k. of Eng- 
land, 278, 294, 295 ; II., his reign, 324; 
III., 368, 369. 

Richard of Clare, earl of Pembroke, 
294. 

Richard, duke of York, 368. 

Richard, earl of Cornwall, 331. 

Richard the Good, duke of Normandy, 
248. 

Richardson, 492. 

Richelieu, 422, 427 ; his intervention in 
the thirty years' war, 428 ; death, 452. 

Richter, Jean Paul, 545, 638. 

Riego, SSI, 552. 

Rienzi, 339. 

Riga, siege of, 471. 

Ripley, George, 642. 

Ritter, H., 637. 

Rizzio, 432. 

Robert, count of Artois, 312; II., 317. 

Robert le Coq, 321. 

Robert, count of Flanders, 273, 

Robert Guiscard, 253, 267. 

Robert, k. of Naples, 337. 

Robert, duke of Normandy, 272, 290. 

Robert of Sorbon, 298. 

Robert the Strong, 242, 247. 

Robert the Wise (of Anjou), 337. 

Roberts, Gen., 594, 627. 

Robertson, W., 492. 

Robespierre, 504 seq. ; fall of, 515. 



682 



INDEX. 



Robinson, Edward, 641. 

Robinson, Joiin, 443. 

Rochambeau, Count, 489, 506. 

Rochefoucauld, 490. 

Roger II., k. of the two Sicilies, 253. 

Rogers, 544. 

Roland (the Frank hero) , 236. 

Rolf, see Rollo. 

Rolfe, 443. 

Rollo, 247. 

Roman law in the provinces, 168 ; among 
the West Goths and Franks, 217 ; codi- 
fication of, 220. 

Romanus IV., Greek emp., 270. 

Rome (the city) , 178, 179 ; sacked by 
Alaric, 205 ; pillaged by Vandals and 
Moors, 211. (See Rome (below) , Italy, 
Papacy, Piedmont.) 

Rome, place of, in history, 124; Greeks 
and Romans, 125; Romanreligion,i26; 
origin of the Romans, 126 ; binder the 
kings, 128 ; character of the legends, 
128 ; legendary tales, 128 ; truth in the 
legends, 130 ; patricians and plebeians, 
131 ; early constitution, 131 ; magis- 
trates, 131; religion, 132; u?ider the 
patricians, 133; rivalry of classes, 133 ; 
the plebeian assembly, 134 ; law of Cas- 
sius, 134 ; war with ^quians and Vol- 
scians, 134; decemvirs, 135; political 
equality, 135 ; war with the Etruscans, 
136 ; invasion of the Gauls, 136 ; Licin- 
ian laws, 137 ; influence of party con- 
flicts, 137 ; conquest of the Latins and 
Italians, 138, 139 ; wars with the Gauls, 
138; first Samnite war, 138; second 
Samnite war, 139 ; third Samnite war, 
139 ; war with Pyrrhiis, and union of 
Italy, 139 ; events of the war, 140 ; citi- 
zenship, 141 ; conquered towns, 141 ; 
Latin franchise, 142; Roman colonies, 
142 ; the Funic wars, to the conquest of 
Carthage and of the Greek states, 143- 
148 ; conquest of Cisalpine Gaul, 144; 
Carthaginians in Spain, 145 ; Hannibal 
in Italy, 146-148 ; conquest of Mace- 
donia, third Punic zuar, the destruction 
of Corinth, 148-152; the provinces, 
151 ; literature and philosophy, 151 ; 
state of morals, 151; Numantian war, 
152 ; era of revolution and of the civil 
wars, 153-167; the Gracchi, 153, 154; 
condition of Rome, 153; jugurthine 
war, 154; Italian war, 156; war with 
Mithridates, 156; Marius and Sulla, 
157, 158 ; war with Sertorius, 158 ; Pom- 
peius and the East, 158-160; gladiato- 
rial war, 159 ; war with the pirates, 159 ; 
Catiline, 161 ; Julius Caesar, 162 ; first 
triumvirate, 162; conquest of Gaul, 163, 
civil war (of Pompeius and Caesar), 
164; second triumvirate, 166; the im- 
perial monarchy, 168-197; reign of 



Augustus, 168; state of the empire, 
168 ; literature, 169 ; poets, 169 ; his- 
torians, 169; law writers, 169; other 
authors, 169; introduction of Chris- 
tianity, 170-172; Roman life, 172; 
dress, 173 ; order of occupations, 173 ; 
marriage and the household, 174; 
slaves, 174; magistrates, 174; etn- 
perors of the Augustan house, 176-180 ; 
reign of terror, 177 ; the Flavians and 
Antonines, 180-183 '< the Jewish war, 
180; state of morals, 183; literature, 
184 ; skepticism, 185 ; superstition, 185 ; 
the emperors made by the soldiers, 185- 
187; power of the provinces, 186; ab- 
solute monarchy, 188 ; downfall of hea- 
thenism, 189, 193 ; division of the 
empire, 196 ; fall of the Western Em- 
pire, 199. 

Romilly, Samuel, 646. 

Romulus Augustulus, Roman emp., 211. 

Romulus and Remus, 128. 

Ronsard, 448. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, President, 631. 

Rosebery, Lord, 618. 

Roses, wars of the, 328, 368-370. 

Rosmini, 637. 

Ross, Sir John, 632. 

Rossbach, battle of, 477. 

Rossi, 569. 

Rothe, 642. 

Roumania, 586. 

Rousseau, J. J., 491. 

Rousseau, Pierre, 644. 

Roxana, wife of Alexander the Great, 

"S- 

Royer-Collard, 543. 

Rubens, 394. 

Rudolph of Burgundy, 245. 

Rudolph III., k. of Burgundy, 263. 

Rudolph, count of Hapsburg, emp. 
H. R. E.,331. 

Rudolph, duke of Swabia, 267. 

Rufinus, 205. 

Rumford, Count, 635. 

Rupert, count palatine, 334. 

Rurik, 349. 

Ruskin, John, 639. 

Russell, Lord William, 460. 

Russia, attack on the Greek empire, 270; 
345 ; 347 ; natural features of, 348 ; Rus- 
sian and Polish Slaves, 349 ; history of 
Russia in the middle ages, 349 ; in the 
iSth and i6th centuries, 381 seq. ; the 
Cossacks, 382; Russian serfdom, 382; 
society in, 382 ; growth of its power, 470 
seq. ; changes under Peter the Great, 
473 ; Russian campaign of Napoleon, 
530; Crimean war, 571; the Russo- 
Turkish war, 586 ; subsequent situation 
of, 587 ; nihilism, 587 ; and Afghanis- 
tan, 594. 

Ruthven, 432. 



INDEX. 



683 



Rye-House plot, 460. 
Ryswick, peace of, 463. 

Saadi, 232. 

Saarbriicken, battle of, 581. 

Saguntum, Roman alliance with, 145. 

St. Arnaud, 572. 

St. Bartholomew, massacre of, 416, 420. 

St. Bernard, 276, 291. 

St. Bonaventura, 306. 

St. Cloud, ordinances of, 555. 

St. Cyran, 455. 

St. Dominic the order of, 305. 

St. Francis, the order of, 305. 

St. Germain, edict of, 419. 

St. John, viscount Bolingbroke, 466. 

St. Simon, 588. 

Sainte-Beuve, 643. 

Saisset, Bernard, 313. 

Saladin, 231, 274, 276, 278. 

Salic Law, 315. 

Salisbury, Lord, prime minister of Eng- 
land, 597. 

Sallust, 169. 

Salvator Rosa, 394. 

Samnite wars, first, 138 ; second, 139 ; 
third, 139. 

Samnites, 156; join the Marians, 158. 

Sampson, rear admiral, 630. 

Samson, 58. 

Samuel, k. of Bulgaria, 270. 

Samuel the prophet, 58, 59. 

Sancho III., the Great, k. of Navarre, 
282, 340. 

Sancho L, k. of Portugal, 344. 

Sand, George, 550. 

Sand, George, authoress, 643. 

Sandival, Riez, 614. 

San Salvador, 389. 

San Stefano, treaty of, 586. 

Sappho, 90. 

Saracens, incursions of, 249. (See Arabs, 
Mohammedans.) 

Sarcey, 643. 

Sardanapalus L, see Asshur-nasir-bal. 

Sardinia, ceded to the Romans by Car- 
thage, 14s ; Roman province, 151 ; 
conquest of, by Belisarius, 219; ceded 
to Savoy, 466 ; dukes of Savoy, kings 
of Sardinia, 466 ; Sai'dinian king- 
dom under Victor Emmanuel L and 
Charles Albert, 553 ; war with Austria, 
572; extension of the kingdom, 574. 
(See Piedmont, Italy.) 

Sargent, 645. 

Sargon, k. of Assyria, 41, 44, 46, 62. 

Sarpi, Father Paul, 446. 

Sasbach, battle of, 454. 

Saturninus, 155. 

Saul, k. of the Jews, 58, 59. 

Savenay, battle of, 510. 

Savigny, 643. 

Savonarola, Jerome, 375 ; his death, 383. 



Savoy, obtains Sicily, exchanges it for 
Sardinia, 466; ceded to France (1796), 
517; regained by Sardinia (i8i5),S3S; 
ceded to France, 574. (See Piedmont.) 

Saxons, 201, 202; then- conquest of Eng- 
land, 215; their conversion, 215; be- 
come one people with the Angles {see 
Angles). 

Saxony, the ancient duchy (after Louis 
the Child) , 244 ; the Saxon kings and 
emperors, 260 seq.; revolt against 
Henry IV., 265; under Henry the 
Proud and Henry the Lion, 275; di- 
vided, 278 ; Frederick the Wise, 397 ; 
Smalcaldic war, division of, 409; Au- 
gustus II. becomes k. of Poland, 471 ; 
deposed, 472; joins the Confederacy 
of the Rhine, 526 ; its troops abandon 
the French at Leipsic, 531 ; loses to 
Prussia a great part of its territory, 
535 ; an ally of Austria (1866), 578. 

Say, 637. 

Scanderbeg, prince of Albania, 379. 

Scandinavians, conversion of, 239, 345 ; 
character of the countries of the, 344. 
(See Denmark, Norway, Sweden.) 

Schadow, William, 644. 

Scheffer, Ary, 644. 

Schelling, 545. 

Schiaparelli, 635. 

Schiites, 227. 

Schiller, 545. 

Schleicher, 643. 

Schleiermacher, Frederick, 642. 

Schleswig, 347. 

Schleswig-Holstein, 576 seq. 

Schliemann, 642. 

Schlosser, 642. 

Scholastic theology, 306. 

Schopenhauer, 637. 

Schubert, 546, 645. 

Schumann, 645. 

Schwanthaler, 644. 

Schwartz, 387. 

Schwartzenberg, 531. 

Schweinfurth, 632. 

Sciarra Colonna, 313. 

Scipio, Cornelius, 146. 

Scipio, Cnasus, 148. 

Scipio, L. Cornelius, 149. 

Scipio, Publius, 148. 

Scipio, P. Cornelius (Africanus), 148,149. 

Scipio, P. Nasica, 154. 

Scipio, P. Cornelius (^milianus), 150, 152. 

Scopas, 102. 

Scotland, incursions of Scots into Britain, 
215; war with Edward I., 312, 315; 
contest of Bruce and Baliol, 315 ; crown- 
ing of Robert Bruce, 316 ; defeat of the 
English at Bannockburn, 316; the Scots 
van quished by Edward 1 1 1 . , 3 19 ; death 
of James IV. at Flodden Field, 386 ; in- 
vasion of, by Somerset, 429 ; Protestant- 



684 



INDEX. 



ism and Knox in, 431 ; reign of Mary, 
432 ; execution of Mary, 433 ; union of 
crowns under James VI. (James I. of 
England), 435; solemn league and 
covenant, 437; unites with Parliament 
against Charles I., 438 ; Scots deliver 
up Charles, 439 ; victory of Cromwell 
in, 439 ; crown given to William and 
Mary, 461 ; its union with England, 
461; Jacobite rebellions in, 469; phi- 
losophy and literature in, 492, 544, 636. 

Scott, Gen. W., 542, 604, 607. 

Scott, Sir Walter, 544, 638. 

Scribe, 643. 

Scythians, irruption of, 47, 48, 201. 

Secchi, 635. 

Sedgwick, A., 635. 

Sedgwick, C. M., 641. 

Seckendorf, 446. 

Sejanus, 176. 

Seleucia founded, 120. 

Seleucidse, ks. of Syria, 117; conquered 
by Pompeius, 160. 

Seleucus I. (Nicator), k. of Syria, 31, 119. 

Selim I., sultan of Turkey, 379. 

Semiramis, 46. 

Semler, 642. 

Sempach, battle of, 335. 

Sempronius, 146. 

Sena Gallica, battle of, 148. 

Seneca, 177, 184. 

Senior, N. W., 637. 

Senlac, battle at, 250. 

Sennacherib, k. of Assyria, 41, 46, 62. 

Septimania, held by Visigoths, 213 ; oc- 
cupied by the Saracens, 228. 

Serrano, 580, 585. 

Sertorius, Q., 158, 159. 

Servetus, Michael, 412. 

Servia, 223, 586. 

Seven years' war, 477. 

Severus, Alexander, 187. 

Severus, Septimius, 186. 

Seward, W. H., 610, 641. 

Sforza, Francesco, 338, 374, 400. (See 
Milan.) 

Shabak, k. of Egypt, 42, 47. 

Shakers, 588. 

Shakespeare, 448, 643. 

Shalmaneser II.,k. of Assyria, 66; IV., 46. 

Sharp, Granvile, 559. 

Shelley, 544. 

Sher Ali Khan, 594. 

Sheridan, Gen. P., 609. 

Sheridan, Richard B.,478. 

Sherman, Gen. W. T., 609. 

Shishak, k. of Egypt, 41, 61. 

Shrewsbury, battle of, 325. 

Sicilian Vespers, 282. 

Sicily, contest of Phoenicians and Greeks 
in, 45; Carthaginians conquered in, 
148 ; Roman province, 151 ; conquered 
by Belisarius, 219 ; the Normans in, 253. | 



Sicily, the kingdom of, 253 ; ruled by the 
Hohenstaufens, 280; separated from 
Naples, under Peter of Aragon, 282; 
ceded to Savoy and exchanged for Sar- 
dinia, 466; under the Spanish Bour- 
bons, 467 ; annexed to Sardinian king- 
dom, 574. 

Sickingen, Franz von, 401. 

Sidgwick, 637. 

Sidney, Algernon, 460. 

Sidney, Sir Philip, 448. 

Siegfried, abp. of Mentz, 271. 

Siey^s, 500. 

Sigismund, emp. H. R. E., 334, 350. 

Sigismund III., k. of Poland, 382. 

Sigurd, 346. 

Silesia, claimed by Frederick II., 475; 
cession of, to Prussia, 476. 

Silliman, Benjamin, 635. 

Simonides, 90. 

Simon, brother of Judas Maccaba5us,i2i. 

Simrock, 643. 

Sinope, battle of, 571. 

Sismondi, 637, 643. 

Six Articles, 407, 429. 

Sixtus IV., pope, 375, 378. 

Slavery in Greece, 108 ; in Rome, 174 ; 
under the Carlovingians, 239; abol- 
ished by England, 559 ; in the United 
States, 601 ; anti-slavery agitation , 602 ; 
abolished in the United States, 608, 610. 

Slavonians, 200, 223, 347. 

Sleidan, 446. 

Slidell, 607. 

Smalcald, league of, 402, 408 ; Smal- 
caldic war, 408. 

Smerdis, k. of Persia, 67. 

Smith, Adam, 492, 637, 648. 

Smith, Capt. John, 443. 

Smith, Henry B., 637, 641. 

Smith, Joseph, 612. 

Smith, Sydney, 544. 

Smolensk, battle of, 472. 

Smolensko, 530. 

Smorgoni, 530. 

Sobieski, John, 458. 

Socialism, 588, 592. 

Socrates, 106; his philosophy, 106. 

Soissons, seat of government under Cle- 
vis, 213. 

Solemn League and Covenant, 437. 

Soliman, caliph, 228. 

Soliman I. (the Magnificent), sultan of 
Turkey, 379, 402. 

Solomon, k. of the Jews, 60; character 
of his reign, 60; division of kingdoms 
under, 60. 

Solon of Athens, 88 ; his legislation, 88, 90. 

Somerset, 429, 430, 559. 

Songs, as a source of history, 6. 

Sophia, sister of Peter the Great, 470. 

Sophocles, 98-100. 

Sorel, 643. 



INDEX. 



685 



Soto, Ferdinand de, 441. 

Soudan, the, 596. 

Soult, 531. 

South African war, 626. 

South America, independence of, 551 ; 
since 1815, 615. (See the several 
states.) 

Southey, 544. 

South Sea Company, 469. 

Spain, Phoenician settlements in, 51 ; Car- 
thaginians in, 145 ; Saguntum in alli- 
ance with Rome, 145 ; Romans expel 
the Carthaginians from, 148 ; victory of 
Caesar at Munda, 165 ; invaded by 
Suevi, Alans, and Vandals, 206; Visi- 
gothic kingdom established in, 207 ; 
conquered by the Arabs, 228 ; the cali- 
phate and Moslem kingdoms in, 231 ; 
rise of Christian kingdoms in, 341 ; in- 
vasion of Moors, 341 ; constitutions of 
Aragon and Castile, 342 ; union of Ara- 
gon and Castile, 370; conquest of 
Grenada, 370; Ferdinand of Aragon 
acquires Naples, 384 ; Ferdinand joins 
the league of Cambray, 384 ; Spanish 
voyages of discovery, 388 seq.; con- 
quest of Mexico and Peru by, 390; 
power of, under Philip II., 420; the 
Spanish Armada, 433 ; exploration of 
Florida and the Mississippi, 441 ; litera- 
ture in (1517-1648), 447; war of the 
Spanish succession, 463 seq. ; cessions 
at the peace of Utrecht, 466 ; Spanish 
power in Italy (in the i8th century), 
467; under the control of Napoleon, 
522; Joseph Bonaparte made king of, 
528; expulsion of French from, 531; 
revolts in (1820), and their suppres- 
sion, 550 seq. ; loss of its American 
colonies, 551; revolt, and flight of 
Queen Isabella, 580; sells Florida to 
the United States, 601 ; revolutions in 
(i868-i874),585. 

Spanish war, 630. 

Sparks, Jared, 641. 

Sparta, 86, 87 ; constitution of Lycurgus, 
86 ; laws and customs, 86 ; first hege- 
mony, 87 ; Peloponnesian war, 102- 
106; peace of Nicias, 104; naval con- 
tests, 104 ; Spartan life, 108 ; second 
hegemony, 108 ; hegemony yielded to 
Thebes, no. 

Spaiilding, Solomon, 612. 

Speke, 632. 

Spencer, Herbert, 636. 

Spener, 494. 

Spenser, 448. 

Spielhagen, 642. 

Spinoza, 447. 

Spires, diet of, 402. 

Spohr, 645. 

Stael, Madame de, 543. 

Stahl, 643. 



Standard, battle of the, 291. 

Standish, Capt. Miles, 443. 

Stanfield, 644. 

Stanhope (Lord Mahon), 638. 

Stanislas Lesczinski, palatine of Posen, 

471. 474- 

Stanley, 632. 

Stanley, A. P., 638. 

Star Chamber, 369. 

Stark, Gen., 487, 488. 

States General, 313; under Louis XVI., 
499 ^eq. 

Steele, 492. 

Stein, 529. 

Stephen, the first martyr, 171. 

Stephen of Blois, k. of England, 291. 

Stephen (St.), k. of Hungary, 350. 

Stephen III., pope, 234; IV., pope, 
241. 

Stephenson, George, 632. 

Steuben, 487, 488. 

Stevenson, R. L., 639. 

Stewart, Balfour, 635. 

Stewart, Dugald, 544. 

Stilicho, 205, 206. 

Stockholm, massacre of, 404. 

Story, Joseph, 641. 

Story, W. W., 644. 

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 641. 

Strauss, 643. 

Struve, 635. 

Stuart, Moses, 641. 

Stubbs, 638. 

Sturm, 239. 

Sue, Eugene, 643. 

Suevi, 163, 201, 206; kingdom of, estab- 
lished in Spain, 207; kingdom van- 
ished, 208. 

Suez Canal, 585, 633. 

Suger, 291. 

Suidger, see Clement II. 

Sujin, Japanese reformer, 25. 

Sulla, L. Cornelius, takes Jugurtha, 155 ; 
chosen consul, 157; goes to Africa, 
157 ; his return, 157 ; his cruelty, 158 ; 
laws of, 158. 

Sully-Prudhomme, 643. 

Sulpicius Rufus, P., 157. 

Sumner, Charles, 641. 

Sung dynasty in China, 356. 

Sunnites, 227. 

Sutri, synod of, 264. 

Suwarrow, 519. 

Sweden, introduction of Christianity into, 
239 ; relation of its history to the Baltic, 
344 ; war with the Goths, 346 ; to the 
union of Calmer, 346; Charles VIII. 
made king of, 347 ; the Reformation in, 
405 ; in the thirty years' war, Gustavus 
Adolphus, 424 ; career of Charles XII., 
the Northern war, 470 seq.; decline of 
its power, 472 ; in the northern alliance, 
521,524; under Bernadotte, joins the 



686 



INDEX. 



continental system, 529 ; joins Russia 
against France, 530; in the congress 
of Vienna, retains Norway, 535. 

Swedenborg, 494. 

Swift, 492. 

Swiss league, 372. 

Switzerland, a part of Aries, ceded to the 
empire, 334 ; story of Tell, 335 ; rise of 
the Swiss confederacy, 335 ; Charles 
the Bold and the Swiss, 366, 367 ; the 
Swiss Reformation, 403 ; the Helvetian 
Republic, 518. 

Syagrius, 213. 

Sylvester II., pope, 271, 350. 

Syphax, 148. 

Syracuse, Sicilian expedition, 104; cap- 
ture of, 148. 

Syria, kingdom of, founded, 119; a 
Roman province, 160; conquered by 
the Arabs, 227. 

TAIT, 635. 

Taine, 643. 

Taiping Rebellion, 616. 

Talbot, English commander, 328. 

Talbot, Fox, 634. 

Talleyrand, 500, 503, 556. 

Tamerlane, 283, 351, 352, 358. 

Tancred of Hauteville, 253, 273. 

T'ang dynasty in China, 355 ; events in 
this period, 356. 

Taouism, 23. 

Tarentum, 139. 

Tarik, 228. 

Tartars, 283. 

Tasso, 447. 

Taylor, Jeremy, 448. 

Taylor, Nathaniel W., 641. 

Taylor, Zachary, Gen., 604. 

Tecumseh, 541. 

Teen-Wang, 616. 

Telamon, battle at, 145. 

Tell, William, 335. 

Tennessee, 538. 

Tennyson, Alfred, 639. 

Terence, 151. 

Terpander, 90. 

Test Act, 459. 

Testry, battle of, 214. 

Tetzel, 397. 

Teutoburg forest, Roman legions anni- 
hilated in, 172. 

Teutonic knights, 274. 

Teutons, 155, 200; Teutonic confedera- 
cies, 201 ; Teutonic migrations and 
kingdoms, 204; character of the Teu- 
tonic kingdoms, 206. 

Tewfik Pasha, 595. 

Texas, 480 ; annexation of, 604. 

Thackeray, 639. 

Thales of Miletus, 91. 

Thaletas, 90. 

Thapsus, battle of, 165. 



Thebes, contest with Sparta, 109 ; hege- 
mony, no; burning of, 113. 

Themistocles, 94-96. 

Theobald of Champagne, 298. 

Theocritus, 121. 

Theodora, 222. 

Theodoric, k. of the Eastern Franks, 214. 

Theodoric, k. of the East Goths, 211, 212. 

Theodosius I., Roman emp., 193, 194; 
his death, 196 ; regent of the East, 204 ; 
has supreme power in the West, 205 ; 
II., 208, 209, 217. 

Theognis, 90. 

Theophania, wife of Otto II., 263. 

Thermopylae, battle of, 95. 

Theseus, 81. 

Thespis, 100. 

Thierry, Amedee, 643. 

Thierry, Augustin, 643. 

Thiers, 455, 556, 589, 643. 

Thirlwall, 638. 

Thirty years' war, 422 seq.; origin, 422; 
first stage in, 423; second stage in, 
424; third stage in, 427; effects of, 
428 ; peace of Westphalia, 428 ; con- 
sequences of the treaty, 429. 

Thistlewood, 552. 

Thiu, 202. 

Tholuck, 642. 

Thomas, Gen. G. H., 609. 

Thompson, Sir William, 635. 

Thor, Teutonic god, 202. 

Thorn, peace of, 372. 

Thorn, treaty of, 348. 

Thorwaldsen, 545. 

Thothmes I. and III., ks. of Egypt, 40. 

Thrace, 204, 205. 

Thrasybulus, 104, 105, 106. 

Thucydides, 98, 103. 

Tiberius Claudius Nero, emp. of Rome, 
172, 176 ; his death, 177. 

Tibullus, 169. 

Ticinus, battle of, 146. 

Ticknor, George, 641. 

Ticonderoga captured, 487. 

Tigellinus, 179. 

Tiglath-Adar, k. of Assyria, 45. 

Tiglath-Pileser I., II., ks. of Assyria, 45, 
46, 62. 

Tigranes, k. of Armenia, 160. 

Tilly, 424. 

Tilsit, peace of, 526. 

Timour, ruler of Afghanistan, 594. 

Timur, see Tamerlane. 

Tinchebrai, battle of, 290. 
Tippecanoe, battle of, 541. 

Tiresias, 81. 

Tirhakah, k. of Egypt, 42, 46. 

Tischendorf, 643. 

Tissaphernes, 109. 

Titus, Roman emp., siege of Jerusalem, 

180; his reign, 181. 
Togrul Bey, 230. 



INDEX. 



687 



Tokoly, 457. 

Tolosa, battle of, 283. 

Torgau, battle of, 477. 

Torres Vedras, Wellington's defence of, 

529- 

Torrens, R., 637. 

Totila, 219, 220. 

Tours, battle of, 227. 

Towton, battle of, 368. 

Trafalgar, battle of, 525. 

Trajan, Roman emp., 181 ; Parthian ex- 
pedition, 182. 

Transvaal conquered, 627. 

Trasumenus, battle of lake, 146. 

Trebia, battle of, 146. 

Treilschke, 642. 

Trent, council of, 409, 413. 

Trendelenburg, 637. 

Tribonian, 220. 

Triple Alliance, 453, 459. 

Tristan I'Hermite, 365. 

Trochu, 582. 

Trojan war, 82. 

Troppau, congress of, 553. 

Troyes, treaty of 326. 

Truce of God, 264. 

Trumbull, J., 544. 

Tsin dynasty in China, 22. 

Tudor, first of the house, 369. 

Tuduc, k. of Anam, 591. 

Tuiiis, battle at, 144. 

Turenne, 453, 454. 

Turgeneff, Ivan, 644. 

Turkish emirs, 230. 

Turks, Turkey, empire ot the Seljukian, 
270 ; checked by the Crusades, 284 ; the 
Ottoman Turks, Murad I., Bajazet, 
351 ; Mongolian victories over, 352 ; 
conquest of Constantinople (1453), 
government and literature, 353 ; wars 
with the Venetians, 375 ; conquests of 
Mohammed II. and Selim I., 379; at 
war with Charles V., 4P2; allies of 
Francis I ., 408 ; Azoff ceded to Peter 
the Great, 471 ; loss of the Crimea, 
479 ; Treaty of Jassy, 479 ; a party in 
the second coalition against Napo- 
leon, 535; the Greek insurrection, 
553; Greek independence, 554; war 
of Mehemet Ali with the Sultan, 460; 
the Crimean war, 530; integrity of 
Turkish empire guaranteed, 572; re- 
volts in European Turkey, 585 ; the 
Russo-Turkish war (1877), 586; de- 
livers to Austria, Bosnia and Herze- 
govina, 587; relations to Egypt and 
the Western Powers, 595- -f^^. 

Turner, 545, 644. 

Tuscany, 495. 

Twain, Mark, 641. 

Twesten, 642. 

Tycho Brahe, 446. 

Tyler, Wat, 324. 



Tylor, 630. 

Tyndall, 635. 

Tyr, see Thiu. 

Tyrants (in Greece), 89. 

Tyrtasus, 90. 

Uhland, 545. 

Ullman, 642. 

Ulm, battle of, 525. 

Ulphilas, 204. 

Ulrici, 637. 

Ulysses, see Odysseus. 

Umberto I., 584. 

Umbrians, 125. 

Uniformity, Act of, 458. 

United States of America, Declaration of 
Independence, 487 ; Articles of Confed- 
eration, 487; recognition of their inde- 
pendence, 489 ; Constitution formed, 
489; the first Congress, 490; Federal- 
ists and Republicans, 536 ; the " Whis- 
key Rebellion," 536; Jay's treaty, 537; 
new inventions in, 537 ; rupture of the 
Federal party, 538 ; the " Resolutions 
of '98," 539 ; purchase of Louisiana, 
539; war with the Algerines, 540; war 
of 1812-1815, 540; the Hartford Con- 
vention, 542 ; Treaty of Ghent, 542 ; 
writers in (1789-1815), 544; end of 
the Federal party, 601 ; purchase of 
Florida, 601 ; slavery, the Missouri 
Compromise, 601 ; the Monroe Doc- 
trine, 602; parties after Monroe, the 
Whigs, 602; presidency of Jackson, 
603 ; nullification, 603 ; anti-slavery 
agitation, 604 ; annexation of Texas, 
604; war with Mexico, California and 
New Mexico acquired, 604; the Wil- 
mot Proviso, 605; Clay's Compromise 
(1850) , 605 ; the Kansas troubles, 605 ; 
secession of States, 606 ; events of the 
civil war, 607 se^.; emancipation, 608 ; 
murder of Lincoln, 610; the thirteenth 
and fourteenth Amendments, 610; re- 
construction, 611; impeachment of 
Johnson, 611 ; death of Garfield, 611 ; 
civil service reform, 612 ; death of Lee 
and of Grant, 612; the formation of 
the several States, 613 ; 1890, and 
after, 628. 

Universities, rise of the, 305. 

Urban II., pope, 272; V., 323; VI., 326, 

354- 
Uruguay, 551. 

Usurtasen III., k. of Egypt, 39. 
Utah, territory of, 605; tlie Mormons in, 

612.. 
Utrecht union, 416, 417; peace of, 466. 
Uzziah, k. of Israel, 61. 

Valens, Roman emp., 196, 204. 
Valentinian, Roman emp., I., 196; III., 
208, 210. 



688 



INDEX. 



Valerian, Roman emp., 187. 

Valerius, 135. 

Valley Forge, Washington's army in, 488. 

Van Eyck, John, 394. 

Van Arteveld, James, 317 ; Philip, 325. 

Vandals, 202, 206 ; conquest of Africa, 
208. 

Van Dieman's Land, 598. 

Van Tromp, 440. 

Varro, C. Terentius, 147. 

Varro, Roman antiquary, 169. 

Varus, Quintilius, 172. 

Vasa, Gustavus, 404, 424. 

Vasco da Gama, 388. 

Vassali Ivanovitch, czar of Russia, 381. 

Vassy, massacre of, 419. 

Vatican, council of the, 584 ; conflict with 
Prussia, 591. 

Vauban, 453. 

Vedas, sacred books of India, 26; 
Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, 
Atharva-Veda, 27. 

Vedic religion, 26; rites of, 27. 

Velasquez, 394. 

Venetians, the ancient, 124. 

Venezuela, 551. 

Venice founded, 210 ; its connection with 
the fourth crusade, 279 ; the rival of 
Genoa, 335; its constitution, 338; at- 
tacked by the League of Cambray, 
384; joins the "Holy League," 386; 
decline of its power, 374; acquires 
Cyprus, 375 ; given up to Austria by 
Napoleon, 518; given (with Milan) to 
Austria, at the Congress of Vienna, 
536; revolt of, in 1848,569; ceded to 
Italy (1866), 579. 

Venus, see Aphrodite. 

Vercellas, battle of, 155. 

Vercingetorix, 163. 

Verdun, treaty of, 241. 

Vernet, Horace, 545, 644. 

Vernon, Admiral, 469. 

Verona, Odoacer defeated at, 212; con- 
gress of, 551. 

Verrazano, 441. 

Verres, 159. 

Versailles, 455 ; mob at, 502. 

Verus, Lucius, 183. 

Vervins, peace of, 422. 

Vesalius, 447. 

Vespasian, Flavins, Roman emp., 180. 

Vesta, 132. 

Vesuvius, eruption of, 181. 

Veturinus, 139. 

Vicksburg, battle of, 609. 

Vico, 491. 

Victor Emmanuel L, 553, 569; H., 572, 

584. 
Victoria, q. of England, 560. 
Vienna, congress of, 532 ; dissolution of, 

.535- 
Vienna, peace of, 579. 



Villehardouin, 307. 

Villemain, 560, 643. 

Villeneuve, failure of, 524. 

Villeroi, 465. 

Vindex, C. Julius, 179. 

Virgil, 169. 

Virginia, settlement of, 442; growth of 

colony, 445. 
Virginius, 135. 
Viriathus, 152. 
Vischer, Peter, 393. 
Visconti, Gian Galeazzo, 338. 
Visigoths, see West Goths. 
Vitellius, Roman emp., 179, 180. 
Vittoria, battle of, 531. 
Vladimir L, of Russia, 270, 349. 
Vladislav H., k. of Poland, 348. 
Vladislav IV., k. of Hungary, 353. 
Volscian war, 134. 
Volta, 491. 
Voltaire, 491. 
Von Beust, 579. 
Von Moltke, 578 se^. 
Von Roon, 581. 
Von Sybel, 642. 
Vortigern, 215. 

Wagner, 645. 

Wahlstatt, battle of, 283. 

Waiblings, 275. 

Wakefield, battle of, 368. 

Waldemar II., k. of Denmark, 345 ; III., 

345- 

Waldemar, k. of Sweden, 346. 

Wales, migration of Celts to, 215 ; con- 
quest of, 315. 

Walker, F. A., 637. 

Wallace, 636. 

Wallace, William, 312, 315. 

Wallenstein, Gen., 424; death, 428. 

Wallia, 207. 

Walpole, Robert, 469. 

Walpole, Spencer, 638. 

Walter the Penniless, 272. 

Ward, Mrs. Humphiy, 639. 

Ward (sculptor) , 644. 

Warren, Dr. Joseph, 487. 

Wartburg, Luther at the, 400. 

Washington, George, 481, 487 seg.; 
chosen President, 490; cabinet of, 
536; his retirement and death, 538. 

Waterloo, battle of, 533. 

Watt, James, 493, 632. 

Wavre, battle of, 534. 

Wayland, Francis, 637. 

Wayne, 488. 

Weber (composer), 546, 645. 

Weber (historian) , 642. 

Webster, Daniel, 603, 641. 

Webster, Noah, 641. 

Weir, 645. 

Weiss, 643. 

Weissenburg, battle of, 581. 



INDEX. 



689 



Welf I., 275. 
Welfs, 275, 335. 
Wellesley, Marquis of, 593. 
Wellington, 528 seq. ; at Waterloo, 533, 

552, 638. 
Wells, Horace, 634. 

Wenceslaus, emp. H. R. E., 333, 334, 338. 
Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, 436. 
Wenzel, see Wenceslaus. 
Werner, 546. 
Wesley, John, 480. 
West, Benjamin, 545. 
Westeras, diet of, 405. 
Western Empire, separated from the 

Eastern, 196; gradual overthrow of, 

199; causes of the fall, 199; its fall, 

211; revived by Charlemagne, 237. 
West Goths, 201 ; found a kingdom in 

Spain, 208 ; under Theodoric, 209 ; 

masters in Spain, 213. 
West Indies, 389. 
Westphalia, peace of, 428 ; consequences 

of treaty, 429. 
Whately, Richard, 637, 640. 
Wheaton, Henry, 641. 
Wheatstone, 633. 
Whistler, 645. 
Whitefield, George, 494. 
Whitney, Eli, 538. 
Whttney, W. D., 11, 641. 
Whittier, 640. 
Wickliffe, John, 323. 
Wilderness, battle of the, 609. 
Wilkie, 644. 
William the Bad, k. of Sicily, 254; the 

Good, 254. 
William I. (the Conqueror) , 250 seq. ; his 

death, 289; II. (Rufus), 289; III. ,461; 

in Ireland, 462 ; liberty in reign of, 462 ; 

IV., 558. 

William of Clito, 290. 

William I., emp. of Ger., 582,587; II., 593. 

William of Holland, 331. 

William of Malmesbury, 307. 

William I., k. of the Netherlands, 535. 

William of Nogaret, 313. 

William, prince of Orange, 415 ; Utrecht 
Union, 416; death, 417; III., 454. 

William I., k. of Prussia, 576; see Wil- 
liam I., emp. of Germany. 

William, earl of Pembroke, 299. 

Williams, Roger, 444, 446. 

Wilmot Proviso, 605. 

Wilson, John, 544, 638. 

Wimpffen, Gen., 582. 



Windhorst, 592. 
Windischgratz, 568. 
Winirid, see Boniface. 
Winsor, Justin, 641. 
Winthrop, John, 444. 
Witikind, 236. , 
Woden, or Odin, 202. 
Wolf, C. von, 491. 
Wolf, F. A., 643. 
Wolfe, Gen., 482. 
Wolseley, Sir Garnet, 596. 
Wolsey, Cardinal, 406. 
Woolsey, Theodore D., 641. 
Worcester, Joseph E., 641. 
Worcester, battle of, 439. 
Wordsworth, 544. 
Worms, diets of, 372, 399. 
Worth, battle of, 581. 
Wren, Sir Christopher, 459. 
Wurmser, Gen., 517. 
Wyoming, massacre at, 488. 

Xanthippus, 144. 

Xavier, Francis, 449, 649. 

Xenophon, 107, 109. 

Xeres de la Frontera, battle of, 228. 

Xerxes, k. of Persia, 95. 

Yale College, founded, 484. 

Yezdegerd III., 227. 

Yoritomo, 357. 

York, house of, in the wars of the Roses, 

368. 
Yorktown, surrender of, 489. 
Young, Thomas (astronomer) , 546, 635. 
Ypsilanti, Alexander, 554. 
Yung-lo, 356. 

Zacharias, pope, 234. 

Zara, capture of, 279. 

Zama, battle of, 148. 

Zedekiah, k. of Judah, 49, 62. 

Zeller, E., 637. 

Zeno, 91, 121. 

Zeno, Greek emp., 211, 212. 

Zenobia, 187. 

Zerubbabel, Persian governor, 62. 

Zeuxis, 102. 

Zinzendorf, 494. 

Ziska, 334. 

Zola, 643. 

Zorndorf, battle of, 477. 

Zoroaster, 64. 

Zosimus, 223. 

Zwingli, Utrich, 403 ; his death, 403. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




